Borderline
by KodiakWolfe13
Summary: Danny's back and..! ...still a jackass... So much for reformation. He's doing his best, sure, but the mission he has been set on by Batman- infiltrate and take down a criminal organization dubbed the Cloaks -is slowly driving him back towards his old ways. (Sequel to Dark-Net. Read that first or be extremely confused.) (Criminal!Danny)
1. Yup, That's Him

Ch.1: Yup… That's Him

Batman sighed, looking through his binoculars for the umpteenth time in the past half-hour. Superman was beside him, as it was his city (stupid universal hero laws), just as impatient as the Dark Knight in such a bland and un-amusing situation.

Taking a long, deep breath, Superman asked "I thought you said he was going to here on time?"

"Because he tells the truth _so… often_…" Batman answered, slowly looking at the Kryptonian beside him with a heated glare. The Kryptonian frowned at his friend while Batman shook his head, looking through his binoculars again.

They waited in silence, a club overflowing with people on the other side of the street. The music was loud; the sounds of people screaming overtop each other louder. Girls in short, tight party dresses wandered around while guys in flashy suits looked after them, lights twinkling in their eyes. Bodies danced around, holding drinks in the air. Some smoked; others didn't. It didn't matter who you were in there; you could be anyone you wanted.

And their little decoy had yet to show up, the little pest.

Batman pulled something out of his belt, still looking through the binoculars, and shoved it into Superman's hands. "Call him. _Now_."

The Man of Steel did, ignoring the blatant threat behind the Dark Knight's words, and quickly dialed their contact's number. He waited for about ten rings before there was a pause.

"_If you have this number, you obviously must mean something to me, whether you may be my crappy supervisor or my shrink sister. If you need me, leave a message. I will get back to you when I find it _convenient._ Or I might not _at all_, who knows? It all depends on my mood._"

_BEEP_.

"He didn't answer. What do you want me to say?" Superman asked. Batman reached out, making a grab-gesture towards the phone while still looking through his binoculars. Superman placed it in the Dark Knight's hands and Batman pressed it to his ear, a blank look on his face.

"Danny… If you don't get your lazy arse down to the Shining Star Club this instant, you will be found dead in a ditch tomorrow morning. _Do you understand me_? Dead. In. A. Frikkin. Ditch. If you choose to ignore this message, the cops are going to have to use _dental records_ to figure out who the heck you are. Thank you for your time."

Batman turned the phone off with a small _click_ and easily slipped it back into his belt calmly. He put his free hand back to the sides of his binoculars, easily settling into emotionless silent again.

Superman took a step away from the Dark Knight, just in case his head exploded or something of the like.

The two heroes scanned the block over and over again, looking out for their pesky decoy that lacked any and all common decency. While they waited, they watched the people walking up and down the street. You could tell that some were prostitutes. Others were simply taking a stroll. There were a few couples, talking and laughing together. There was a group of teenagers hanging out on one of the block corners, chatting away idly without a care in the world.

Much to Batman's intense relief, there was a loud roar of a motorcycle in the distance. A jet black bike with electric green wheels flew down the road, going way above the legal speed limit. The figure on the back easily directed his bike in and out of traffic, his bike full-face helmet hiding his identity from the other drivers.

The motorcyclist easily coasted into a parking spot along, squeezing in-between two cars without any difficulty. The figure clad in black turned the ignition off, sitting up straight as he did. He removed the helmet from his head, running his hands through his hair and messing it up.

The ebony-haired nineteen-year-old set the helmet down in front of him, shooting a smirk towards the two heroes. Danny mouthed "You gonna throw me in a ditch now?" up to the Dark Knight, batting his eye cutely and tilting his head to the side to add more effect to the whole 'I'm-Adorable' thing he had going on.

Batman scowled, not amused in the least, while Superman shook his head and squinted at the boy. "Oh please tell me he did not dye his hair _again_…"

As said, Danny's ebony bangs were ebony no more. They were blood red, sticking out distinctly against his black clothes. He looked more like he was about to walk into a biker bar than he did a night club with a loose, black leather jacket overtop a plain black t-shirt. He wore his typical black jeans and combat boots to go with the rest of his attire. The only thing he lacked that was usually with him was his beanie.

"How does he get his hair dyed that quickly? Does he have a Goth version of Hot Hues or something?" Batman asked sarcastically, knowing he would never get the answer to the question he was seeking.

Superman sighed, shaking his head. "Red is better than that green-yellow color he tried one time."

"Amen to that." Batman mumbled, shaking his head at the memory. That had not been a pleasant experience for anybody and Danny had complained about it for months. They had tried to reason that it was his fault since _he_ chose the color but, with Danny, there is and never will be such a thing as reason.

* * *

Danny, grinning up at the heroes, hummed and did a little wave to them, knowing such a thing would tick off his almost-supervisor very much. He swung his leg over his bike, letting his boot-clad foot hit the ground with a small, dull _thump._ He turned around, spinning so his back faced the heroes, and hopped onto the sidewalk. The nineteen-year-old walked along down the concrete slabs, brimming with the confidence of a peacock. Some of the older folks glanced at him suspiciously, noticing his excessive use of leather and the way his bangs were bright red. The Dark-Net Creator smiled at them, dark but cute, and continued on his way, putting the older couples on edge.

He probably looked really suspicious at that moment. Batman was going to be so ticked with him.

…but did he really care?

He found the answer was a blatant _no_.

Danny turned when he reached the steps leading up to the club's doors. There were two tough bodyguards standing in the frame, watching every person that moved through the door and memorizing their faces, in case something illegal happened later.

Well… At least if someone got _caught_. It was never illegal unless you got_ caught_ in the middle of the crossfire.

Danny confidently strode up the steps, past a line of people waiting to get in. People looked at him with different emotions. Most were watching his pompous self walk up the steps with disdain. Some of the girls, and even some of the guys, looked like they wanted to hook up with him. Others didn't seem to think he deserved to be able to walk past them, cut the entire line, and still get in, no matter who he was.

Frankly, Danny didn't care what they thought of him. If he wanted to, he could wipe the floor with them if he wanted. Wasn't that something to be proud of?

After ascending the steps, Danny stopped in front of the two guards and quickly said the name he had picked up from the digital list he had looked at before leaving. He knew he could use the name, too, because the guy was never going to show up. Danny had personally made sure he would never show up that night. The poor dude was probably still tied up in the bathroom at a random, dinky hotel that was infested with roaches and rats, stripped of all his ID, money, and valuables. God alone knew how long that poor guy was going to be there, sitting in the dirt-covered bathtub and screaming through the duct-tape across his mouth.

As the nineteen-year-old was allowed through the doors after only a moment's hesitation from the guards, Danny smirked at the people standing in line. He knew they were never going to be allowed in and they knew it too. They were just in complete denial about the whole entire situation and refused to go do something productive.

Danny got quite a few glares for his smirk.

Slowly walking down the steps into the loud, main room, the nineteen-year-old scanned the crowd with distaste. The amount of people was overbearing, filling the room with body heat, even if the AC was on. Some people danced to the techno music playing over the stereo. People were trying to talk over each other, making the place louder than it needed to be. Others were crowding the bar, drinking and chatting with their friends or trying to land a date with someone they deemed hot.

The ebony-haired male spotted his target on one of the higher levels where people could get away from the crowd and watch the dancers from above. Two bodyguards stood behind her, watching everyone that dared to near closely.

The woman was sitting at one of the smaller tables alone. Her long black hair was slicked back and tucked behind her ears, perfectly straight in every way. Her striking brown eyes scanned over the crowd, watching everyone with the intensity that could rival Batman's. Her tanned skin was flawless, not a blemish in sight. Her clothes were bright and flashy, showing off her curves as they held fast to her skin. Big loops hung from her earlobes and a necklace dangled from her neck loosely. She had strapped high-heels on to go with her outfit. Her right leg was crossed over her left. Her perfectly manicured fingernails drummed against the table in front of her steadily, glossy and shiny.

Overall, she could pass for someone of high rank. And in the club she was currently haunting, she was. Everyone knew her to be the owner and wouldn't dare approach her.

Well… Everyone but Danny… He's never been one to respect boundaries and stay on one side of the line. It's what made him Danny.

The nineteen-year-old saw the woman look at him, staring him down with brown eyes. Danny flashed a smile at her, making sure he made direct eye-contact with her, before he began looking around the room again with his held high on his shoulders. The blue-eyed male took note of the stairs before gliding over to them, climbing the white marble steps with ease. As he made it to the top, noticing the drop of volume, he shot a look over his shoulder to the woman again. She was watching him with interest, twirling her midnight hair with one finger while taking a drink from her glass.

Danny just shot another smile over his shoulder, getting a raised eyebrow from the girl before he turned back around and flipped his hood up. His easygoing smile had instantly turned into a smirk once it was out of view of the woman.

"This is one of the easiest jobs I have ever agreed to…"

Walking to the side, Danny graced his hand against the banister and found a spot that had a clear view of the action above. Liking the full frame view he had, Danny stopped and leaned against it casually, watching everyone with little interest, even though others would think he was watching the most interesting thing in the world. And though it was tempting, Danny didn't let his eyes flicker back to where his target was.

She'd come to him eventually. It was just a matter of when. Ignoring a girl after making eye contact was the best way to get her attention.

Some time passed, songs switching the mood on the dance floor. The rise and drop of volume also depended on the music. Danny found it only a little interesting and nothing more.

As he was thinking about getting a drink from the bar on the level he was on, Danny felt another presence walk up behind him and lean against the rail by his side. He refused to look at her, keeping his blue gaze on the dance floor and his form relaxed as could be. The woman beside him did the same, not bothering to look at him.

"Your first time here?" The woman asked, casting a small glance to the figure beside her. Brown eyes roamed over the figure before looking back down to the dance floor.

Danny nodded, though he knew she couldn't see it. "Yep. I can't say I'm impressed. It seems to be like every other club."

He felt her shift and couldn't help the smirk that overcame his lips. Danny knew she would never leave him alone now. She was the owner and she'd do anything to keep a pretty boy like him coming back again and again, especially if he had some power to his name. And, at the moment, he technically did, even though it was only because of identity theft.

"If it's like all the others, how come people keep coming back?" The woman asked, tilting her head closer so she could hear the ebony-haired male's answer.

"Because everyone in this room is a brain-donor with no personality to speak of." Danny answered, finally turning his head to the side so she could look at his face. He watched her take in his appearance with interest, also noticing the bodyguards standing off to the side. His hood made them nervous, which was good.

The woman's eyes sparkled. "You're here. Wouldn't that make you a brain-donor with no personality?"

An amused smile overcame Danny's lips unintentionally. He had to say, he liked the woman's sass. As he straightened out, he responded "I just came to see if it was worth the hype. So far, I don't plan on coming back."

The midnight-haired woman straightened as well, noticing his posture looked as if he was about to leave. "And what could I do to make it seem unlike the other clubs you've visited?"

Danny let his smirk slip again, tilting his head to the side. "For one, you could tell me your name."

The woman smiled invitingly and held out her dainty hand, saying "I'm Anika Waterchase."

Danny took the hand, noticing the woman gave a firm squeeze just as he did. "Great to hear. I'm Dante Argali. But you can just call me Danny."

* * *

Batman shook his head at the scene he saw through his binoculars. How Danny could act his way into a club, get a girl's attention by not giving her any attention, and keep her so occupied she didn't see her 'associates' entering one of the back rooms for a meeting she was supposed to attend was an amazing feat he didn't think anybody else could do.

"He is one heck of an actor…" Superman mumbled. He, too, was shaking his head in disbelief.

Batman stood up from his crouch, putting his binoculars back in his pocket. "I know. There was one mission where he had to be an altar boy in a Catholic church."

"…you're joking…"

"If I hadn't known any better, I'd say he _was_ Catholic. Thank the Lord I know the truth…" Batman mumbled as he pulled out his grapple, shooting it at one of the buildings across the street and swinging to it. Superman followed behind silently, knowing any suggestions about his way of traveling would be met with a Bat-Glare.

As the Man of Steel landed beside his friend, Batman told his colleague to remember the plan, which was merely taking down Anika's associates while she was busy. The Dark Knight grumbled about how he could do it himself and that some international hero laws were stupid. Superman rolled his eyes in reply to the irritated mumbles and just followed Batman as he led him to the door that would lead into the office where the meeting was being held.

* * *

Anika laughed at the sarcastic one-liner Danny had just said, bobbing her leg while she sat across from him. The tanned woman seemed to be quite enjoying the nineteen-year-old's presence, listening attentively to every word he spoke.

Danny continued to smile coyly, making sure to keep his entire form lax. He was leaning back against his chair, one ankle resting atop his knee casually. His left elbow was propped on the chair's arm and his head rested against his hand. His free hand drummed against the chair's other arm.

"So Mr. Argali, are you a resident of Metropolis?" Anika asked, a curious glint in her eyes as she asked.

Danny shook his head. His blue eyes drifted to the dance floor briefly before quickly adverting back the woman's brown ones. "No, actually. I live in Las Vegas. Sometimes I stay in Gotham, though, for… Business reasons."

"What brings you to this city then?" Anika asked, taking a drink from her glass filled with brandy.

"More business… My supervisor could have done this himself if he really wanted to but I'm just a better business dealer." Danny answered. His smirk was laughing as he made fun of his 'boss'. Anika smiled and hummed.

"So you're a better talker?"

"So people tell me."

"I'd say I have to agree."

Danny's smile broadened. His blue eyes drifted back over to the railing where he could see the tops of heads twirling around. The techno music made dancing fast, quick, and choppy. The people clapped and laughed. If he was close enough, Danny might've been able to hear the girls' jewelry going _clink-clank, clink-clank, click-clank_, as the beads and chains beat against each other with each jerk everyone made.

Anika noticed Danny's attentiveness to the people below, twirling her necklace in her hand as she watched him with intense brown eyes. "I see you enjoy watching everyone dance."

Danny hummed, though it was barely heard above the fast techno music. "Not quite… More like, wondering why they would willingly get on such a brightly lit floor and prance around like a bunch of nit-wits with fire under their feet."

The woman raised an eyebrow at the colorful description, an amused flicker dancing in her eyes. "Have you ever danced before?"

"Yes. Never want to again." Danny stated, memories of all his missions involving high and mighty officials rolling around in his brain. There were times he hated those prissy memories and there were times when he really hated those prissy memories. He was currently entering the 'really-really-_really_-hate' region.

…at least someone got pummeled later on. Those moments made the rest of the memory much more tolerable.

Anika pushed herself up from her seat and walked around the table to stand in front of Danny. He looked up at her like he was bored but one could tell his stance was leaning towards resilience more than it was lack of interest.

The tan woman grabbed Danny's hand, giving a light tug. "Come on. I bet I could change your mind."

Danny hummed, a smirk gracing his face again. "I'd love to see you try."

Anika pulled at the ebony-haired male's hand again. "Challenge accepted. Now come on."

The resilient nineteen-year-old let his head fall back against the back of the chair, groaning loud and long. Anika laughed, tugging Danny's hand again and again, egging him on and inviting him to join her on the dance floor.

Out of the corner of his blue eyes, Danny saw one of the bodyguards giving him a look. If he was anyone else, he might've been scared but Batman gave him a scarier one on a daily basis. Looks from normal, puny people just didn't have the same depth of scariness as the Batman's (whom Danny still believed to be an undercover alien from many galaxies away, though he had no evidence that proved so).

Danny sighed, rolling his eyes at the look but feigning a smidgen of terror, and allowed himself to be pulled up by Anika. The woman linked her arm with his, eagerly but elegantly pulling him towards the stairs. They began the descent, getting looks from many while the bodyguards stood at the top of the steps, watching the woman lead the male down the steps.

The two started out on the edge of the dance floor and, somewhere along the lines, they ended up in the middle. Danny wasn't thrilled with the establishment but played nice with the other people, most of whom he wanted to stab, and smiled small to give the illusion he was having fun dancing with the pretty owner of the club.

Now he asked himself one question…

Where the heck were Batman and the Boy Scout? They were supposed to be out of the club by now!

As Anika swayed with a smile splitting her face, she asked loudly over the techno music "Are you having fun?"

"A ton!"

Anika smiled bigger while Danny mentally rolled his eyes. People bored him to death sometimes.

Everyone stopped when there was a loud noise that was even louder than the forsaken noise spilling from the speakers. A couple of small cries echoed throughout the club while they turned to one of the doors on the main level. It was ready to fall off its hinges, bulging outwards, while someone or something continued to beat against it.

Anika's brown eyes widened though they drooped again, hiding her astonishment and forgetfulness that she was supposed to attend a meeting that night.

Danny, however, smirked. "Oh, hey, look! That's my cue!"

The woman turned to him, startled beyond reason while her bodyguards ran down the steps to address the situation.

The nineteen-year-old smirked at the smaller woman, even though she was much older than he was. "I'd love to hear how you felt when you realized I was just screwing you over but we'll never meet again in our lives so~…"

With a quick flick of his wrist, Danny had a syringe full of some liquid in his hand, which he quickly jabbed into Anika's shoulder. She cried out, earning the attention of everyone in the near vicinity. People screamed and began moving back away from the dark-clad male holding the growing-unconscious woman.

Danny looked around, grateful that his hood was still up and had yet to come down.

The bodyguards turned around when they heard the various screams and quickly made eye contact with the blue-eyed boy holding the unconscious woman. Just as they began running towards him, the door finally flew off its hinges. The door rammed the guards down with no trouble, knocking them out instantly.

Superman appeared in the doorway, alone. Batman had most likely already taken off out the back entrance, preferring to remain hidden than cause even more of a scene.

"Time to go, Graveyard." The Man of Steel said plainly.

People gasped, taking even further steps away from the darkly dressed hero-in-disguise. The spectators looked on with fear, knowing the hero-of-sorts was brutal with his victims and was, on a scale of one to Batman, very close to being Batman when it came to being terrifying, though he hadn't quite perfected the art since he had the tendency to act very indifferent.

But that was part of what made him scary… At least heroes had the decency to hate people. To love and to hate, you had to care.

Graveyard didn't care. Nothing made an impact on him, it seemed.

"Finally!" Danny yelled, throwing Anika over his shoulder without a care. The spectators parted like the Red Sea as he passed. The nineteen-year-old eagerly passed the unconscious woman over to Superman the first chance he got while saluting. "If ya need me, I'll be in my hideout, sleeping away this crappy road trip."

Superman tried to say something but Danny turned invisible, disappearing instantly. The Man of Steel let out a long sigh, shaking his head as he looked down at the unconscious felon in his hands.

Anika Waterchase was a prime example of why one should not counterfeit, fund illegal operations, _run_ illegal operations, and other such crimes.

* * *

Danny revved his engine as he drove down the street. Whoops and laughter echoed in his helmet. Behind the protective glass that kept dirt and bugs out of his eyes, the nineteen-year-old's blue orbs sparkled with mirth and excitement.

An entire club had just seen his alias and they would never know because they all thought it was a disguise! _Ha!_

Danny cranked up his speed, flying past cars and driving over the yellow line in the middle of the road. The other drivers shouted at him inside their vehicles, honking their horns in resentment. Danny continued on with little sympathy, basking in his illegalness and daring to go even faster than the regulated speed limit.

His joyride soon came to an end though. The Ghost Kid pulled into his hotel, crossing the road and barely missing getting hit by another car. More honks called after him but Danny could only laugh his tail off.

The midnight-haired male came to a stop in one of the parking spots. He took his helmet off, ruffling his hair up and making it messy all over again. Placing the helmet on the seat in front of him, Danny stretched and let out a pleased groan as his back popped.

The nineteen-year-old swung his leg over the bike before he made his way across the parking lot, heading for the hotel he was staying out. Danny sauntered in the lobby, noticing the doorman was out like a light.

Not being able to resist such a thing, Danny got a sharpie and drew all over his face for the heck of it before heading up to his room.

Walking in the dark room, the door closed behind him and locked itself since it was one of _those_ hotels. Danny threw the keycard onto the table right inside the door, walking past the small kitchen without a second thought. After changing into comfy clothes, he eagerly fell onto the couch, sighing in content. Danny pulled the blanket on the back of the couch down, unfolding it as he did. After unfolding, he folded it around him and nuzzled into the couch.

On accident, he punched himself in the face when he pulled the blanket up to his chin but no one would _ever know_…

"Well that was graceful."

…

Or not.

"If you tell anybody about that, I will personally see to it that your reputation suffers immeasurably. And I know _how hard_ it is for you to keep it the way it is now…" Danny said sweetly, looking up at the Dark Knight with his blue eyes. His pupils were dilated in the dark, eating up almost all of the pale blue color.

Batman walked out from his shadowy corner and stood beside the couch, crossing his arms as he came to a stop. "Oh yeah and what would you do to ruin it, hm? Cause we both know I have lots of stuff on you."

"...touché…"

"_Uh-huh_. Moving on; I assume you did your part of the job I assigned you, no matter how _late _you decided to _show up_."

"We can't all be punctual like you, Batsy. It's a fact of life. Just like how you currently seem to be PMSing." Danny said, indifference lacing his voice in the beginning and taunting being the main emotion in the end.

Batman glared. Danny smiled further.

"Yes I did my part, if it's any assurance, which I'm sure it isn't. And I didn't do any excess brutalness like all the other times! Aren't you proud of me, Mommy?" Danny teasingly said, batting his eyelids cutely and pressing his lips together in a happy pout. When the Dark Knight's glared darkened, Danny cackled and turned onto his side, snuggling into the couch, even though there was a bed in the next room over.

"No time for sleep. You've got to hit the road. You have school to get back to." Batman said, nudging the nineteen-year-old and rousing him from his rest.

It was Danny's turn to glare. "Aw _heck no_, fool! It is three AM and I haven't slept in two days, which was a _total _accident but whatever! You either let me sleep or you face the consequences."

"And the consequences would be?"

"Well… All I can say is that any students or faculty in a ten foot radius of me is going to be in my killing zone, alright? And those classrooms are so tiny…" Danny slyly said, a dark grin playing on his lips as he looked over his shoulder.

Batman glared again, an exasperated sigh exiting his lips while he rolled his eyes. He pointed at the junior in high-school, saying "You better be back in Las Vegas in a couple of days or, so help me, I will drag you there, _understood_?"

Danny grinned victoriously before snuggling into the couch again, hugging the pillow like a long-lost friend that he hadn't seen in years. "Yeah, we'll see."

"_Danny_."

"I got the point, Bats! Chill out, man! Don't you know me and my habits by now?" The nineteen-year-old growled over his shoulder, wishing dearly that the Caped Crusader would suddenly vanish into thin air and be gone from him. Against his wishes, Batman stayed in his spot, glaring down at the male in front of him.

"Sorry if I sometimes can't tell when you're serious, lying, or in one of your states that allows you to change your mind in an instant." Batman growled, an unhappy glint in his eyes at the thought of Danny being serious about something one minute and suddenly deciding against it the next.

Danny brightened at the statement. "I'm that much of a pest? Really? I knew I was amazing but, by-golly, I really am something else, aren't I?"

"You're something, alright. It's just not necessarily good." Batman stated.

Danny's cute, little smile widened. "I know~!"

Batman scowled, shaking his head and making his way to the window. "Go to sleep. You've got a road-trip ahead of you."

"I'll get to that the day you stop going through windows!"

"_Go to sleep_!"

Danny pouted as Batman exited his view. He snuggled into his temporary bed again, burying his head in the pillow. He mumbled "That I do… Though I make no promises on how fast I'll be during said trip to get back home."

* * *

**Well... Looks like they haven't made any progress with that whole reform thing, huh? XD**

**Hello again, my repeat offenders and newbies! Welcome to Dark-Net's sequel! Yeah, I can't believe I'm doing this but, at the same time, _yes I can_. I blame ya'll for it.**

**Moving on, if I hadn't made it clear, this is one year after Dark-Net. Danny's still a pest, the Dark-Net is still up (we'll see some of it next chapter), and they've made no progress on Danny's reform because he's such a pain in the butt that way! **

**For my updating schedule: I'm just going to do it when I feel like it. I will not stride to make it every day but it may happen that way. We'll see. I'm trying to teach myself that this can't become my entire life and that, yes, it is ok for me to take a day off.**

**See you soon~!**


	2. Taking His Time

Ch.2: Taking His Time

Sometime around eleven in the morning, Danny woke up refreshed and content. The plush couch he was laying on still felt like heaven and the pillow was fluffy as ever, his head-print in the center. Sighing in content, he turned on the TV and switched it to the news. Flashes of the takedown he, Superman, and Batman had partaken in was the immediate response the television gave, making the teen cackle to himself. "And she still doesn't know I'm nineteen… Hehehehe~!"

After watching a little bit more of the news, Danny turned it to one of the music channels and got up. Stretching, the ebony-haired teen groaned in pleasure as his back cracked and creaked. Turning the volume up to a volume anyone on the floor would be annoyed with, Danny debated with himself if he should eat or take a shower first.

After many minutes of debating with himself, Danny got a fantastic idea that he'd do both at the same time.

A few minutes after that, he discovered that that would not work under any circumstances and was thoroughly grateful the Dark Knight was back in Gotham, doing his thing.

Then he realized something.

Looking around the room with a soggy orange in his hand and soaking wet himself, Danny glared at the corners of the room, shifting his eyes every which way. "I bet there's cameras…"

As he moved on, choosing to take a shower before he ate, he let such paranoid thoughts go. Batman was Batman. He was the same with paranoia the way with Danny was with being a rule-breaker. Nothing was going to change either of those things.

Danny spent thirty minutes in his blistering hot shower, hoping to use up the entire hot water supply the hotel had. Even though he knew it was an empty dream, he tried anyways and after the half-hour, he finally gave up entirely. He spent the next five minutes drying himself off and putting his clothes on (new world record!).

Once he was done getting ready, he walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. As he looked in, he realized it was empty and cursed himself for not buying a little more food.

Turning off the TV, Danny grabbed his keycard, keys, and backpack before exiting the room. He closed the door behind him with a loud _bang_, hoping to annoy the other residents. No one shouted though and that left Danny feeling down.

The nineteen-year-old took the elevator to the main floor and checked himself out of the hotel. After returning the keycard (because he had a double in his backpack, of course), Danny exited the hotel, jaywalking to where his motorcycle was waiting for him.

Danny swung his leg over the bike and sat down. He picked the helmet off the seat and shoved it over his head. Putting the key in the ignition, he revved the engine and backed out of the spot carefully. Once he had the bike pointed in the direction of the exit, he jetted off quickly and screeched into traffic, ignoring the other drivers while making sure he wouldn't get hit at the same time.

While waiting at a traffic light (even he wasn't stupid enough to cross traffic like that), Danny turned on the Bluetooth headphones in his helmet and began playing music in his ears. He slipped his phone back into his backpack just as the light turned green and zoomed across the intersection with no regard for the other drivers he was leaving behind.

After driving around Metropolis for a bit, he turned onto the highway and began cruising down one of the lanes, going thirty above the speed limit. He weaved around people with ease, bobbing his head as he did. If people were swearing at him or honking their horns, Danny couldn't hear them over his music.

_I'm borderline happy and I'm borderline sad_

_ I'm borderline good and I'm borderline bad_

_ And I can't get rid of this tingling fear_

_ You'd sort me out if my head gets clear_

Danny briefly looked behind him when he barely heard the tell-tale sirens of a police cruiser. He sighed when he saw it before speeding up even more. His speed was ridiculous as it was and the cop had barely gotten his speed up while Danny was accelerating faster than the police cruiser was.

_I live my life in shackles but I'm borderline free_

_ I used to be blind and I still can't see_

_ And I won't get around to a change of mind_

_ As long as nobody breaks my stride_

As he sped past others and tried to outrun the cop, he thought that the song he was listening to should be his theme song. He laughed a little and looked behind him.

The cop was still speeding after him. Oh, and he had called in backup! Danny felt so touched.

The three cop cruises pursued Danny, who continued to drive his bike like a bat out of hell. The only reason he was getting away though, was because he had a head start and he had more maneuverability than the police cruisers. Weaving in and out of cars was a breeze to the nineteen-year-old. To the bigger cars, this was not the case.

Looking up, Danny saw a sign that had an arrow for an upcoming exit. The words 'Gotham City' blared across the green sign in white paint, along with the exit number beside it. The blue-eyed male smiled that he caught the sign while he was chasing the cops and accelerated even more for the fun of it. He could see ahead that two cruisers were blocking his way, a spike strip in the middle of them.

Danny just smirked and kept his speed. At the last minute, with the cruisers right behind him, he turned off down the exit into Gotham, getting the cops off his trail. One even didn't have time to stop and drive over the spike strip on accident.

Laughter echoed within the confines of his helmet as he continued on, journeying into the dark and gloomy city. The other drivers were going below the speed limit, like they were hesitating about going into the city that held a dozen lifetimes worth of violence, misery, and grief.

It was different to see someone speeding way past the legal speed into the city, cruising in as if it was a shining utopia or fantastic fantasia.

Danny took pride in the fact he was the only one brave enough to do so.

Weaving through the streets of Gotham was a breeze. Danny knew every street that led to his destination by heart. He'd made himself learn them with the patience of a father with unruly children. During the process, he had gotten lost a dozen times but, in the end, it had all paid off. He could be anywhere in Gotham (mostly) and he could still find his way there.

The feeling he got as he drove through the streets was also refreshing. The buildings towered above him, looming over the nineteen-year-old's head in a terrifying way. What little sunlight could be made through the clouds made the paned windows shine and sparkle. People walked up and down the sidewalks, wearing dark colors that set the dull mood. Cars drove up and down the streets that looked exactly like New York's, just not nearly as crowded.

Danny had been in many big cities and none made him feel like Gotham did. Metropolis was vibrant and colorful, warm and inviting. In Las Vegas, it always seemed to be daylight and the mood was always rolling. In other places, such as New York and Boston, the city dared you to do something great and stick out.

In Gotham, however, the city looked at you with its glaring eyes and told you to get out if you couldn't handle the pressure, if you couldn't be tough. It dared you to do something spectacular, to stand up to her like she was standing up to you. She saw everything you held inside but felt no pity, no matter the situation you found yourself in.

All in all, Gotham pushed you like no other city did and dared you to do things no other city would even dream of suggesting.

While others might feel pressured by Gotham's stone-cold eyes, Danny felt alive and invincible.

As Danny pulled up to the sidewalk by a townhouse, he took his helmet off his head and ruffled his hair to get it messy again. He set the helmet on the seat in front of him, digging through his backpack quickly and finding his phone. He turned the music off, quickly following up with turning the headphones off as well. Once done with all that, Danny put his phone in his pocket and got off the bike, setting the helmet on the seat and slinging his backpack over his shoulder again.

The nineteen-year-old skipped up the steps and knocked on the door, a smirk gracing his face as he did.

There was a pause while Danny waited. Then the sounds of feet against a hardwood floor met the ebony-haired male's ears. His smirk widened a little bit in excitement. The locks were undone on the other side of the door and the plank of wood was opened.

Robert Northcutt opened the door with a small greeting before he stopped short, staring at the nineteen-year-old with wide eyes.

Danny's smirk widened even more. "Sup Rob."

"Danny." Robert said, eyes still wide and brain completely fried to a crisp. "W-What are you doing in Gotham? Don't you have school? I see you dyed your hair again…"

"I was in Metropolis and thought I'd drop in for a visit. And just because I'm supposed to go to school doesn't mean I actually _go_." Danny replied with a 'duh' look as he looked up at his red bangs. He made a waving gesture at Robert's deadpan expression, asking "Is my sissy home? I'd love to see her."

"Yes… She is, actually. She's working the nightshift this week. How did you..?" Robert trailed, a confused look on his face as he squinted his eyes at the red-banged male.

Danny's smirk came back, full blast. "I have ways of finding things out."

"Yes… That's the part that terrifies me." Robert stated, biting his lip and running a hand through his hair. He stepped aside, allowing entryway for the younger male to step inside. "Well, why don't you come in? Jazz is in her study. I can get her real quick, if you want."

Danny waltzed inside and down the hall, saying "Nope. I'll get her myself."

Robert tried to call after him but his voice failed. He pressed a hand to his face while the other rested on his hip, sighing long. The man was grateful, praising the Lord even, that his kids were at school and not present when their 'Uncle Danny' was around. Even better, it wasn't one of the weeks his in-laws visited them.

While Robert was counting his blessings, Danny was walking through the house with practiced ease. He'd been through it many times before on his spontaneous visits.

Danny dropped his bag by the steps that led to the second level and quietly opened the door to the study next to it. With careful precision, he made no sound as he opened the door. He peeked his head in; looking over to the desk he knew was on the other side of the room.

Jazz was sitting at her desk, like he had predicted, and she leaned over a bundle of papers with tired eyes. Glasses on her face and hair tied into a messy ponytail, she looked like she was about to drop dead. There were crescent circles under her eyes, purple and black. Her comfy clothes were on; they were nothing more than a t-shirt, sweatpants, and a pair of bunny slippers her kids had gotten her.

"You look like you've been working harder than me." Danny said, stuffing his hands in his jeans pockets while he smiled reassuringly.

Jazz turned around in her seat abruptly, looking over her shoulder to stare at the ebony-haired teen in her study. The frown on her face immediately turned into a smile and she got up, saying her brother's name under her breath as she did. Once standing next to each other, the siblings hugged briefly before breaking apart.

"Hey Shorty, how's life?" Jazz asked, ruffling her shorter brother's hair and ruffling it even more.

Danny swatted the hand away with a smirk, saying "Nothing much. Just got over here from Metropolis and outran the police again. How about you, Shrink?"

"It's about as good as it can be." Jazz answered, shrugging nonchalantly. She walked back to her desk, grabbed her coffee mug that was inscribed 'Mommy's Cup', walked back to the study door, stopped in the frame, and said over her shoulder "Come on, Hot-Shot. Let's talk in the kitchen."

Danny followed after his sister obediently, walking by her side as they made their way into the kitchen. Once in the room, Jazz gestured for her brother to sit at the kitchen table while she got herself another cup of coffee. She got Danny some as well, knowing he probably didn't need the extra boost but not having the will power to get him something else.

The two both drank their caffeinated drink straight black with no added sugar or cream.

"So what were you doing in Metropolis?" Jazz asked, taking a sip of her steaming drink.

Danny shrugged, not showing any excitement on his face. "Eh, just clubbing. Nothing special."

Jazz looked like she was about to question why he was clubbing but just waved it off, propping her elbow on the counter and putting her head in her hand while she did. The psychiatrist rubbed her temple, trying to thwart the oncoming migraine she was receiving.

Danny grinned at her reaction. "Well, what have you been doing?"

"Hm, nothing much. Right now I'm filling in for another doctor at Arkham so my schedule is all out of whack." Jazz answered, shrugging like her brother had done moments before.

"How are the crazies you deal with these days?" Danny asked, leaning back casually as if he was asking about a friend he knew instead a bunch of psychotic creeps staying in an asylum.

Jazz smiled and took another sip from her coffee mug. "They're good, I guess. They've been acting considerably less crazy in the past couple of weeks but that usually means they're planning a riot to break out again. For that, we've bumped up security but, other than that, there's not much we can do."

"_Well_…"

"I am not suggesting to the board that we lock the inmates in chains, you understand?"

"_Yes Ma'am_…"

"That's a good little Hot-Shot! Yes that is!"

"Oh, you really know how to tick a person off, don't ya?"

"I learned from the best!"

The two siblings chatted idly on, sipping at their drinks as they did. Robert occasionally joined the conversation but spent most of his day working around the house, preferring to let the two siblings chat amongst themselves. Danny still made him nervous, no matter how comfortable his wife was with him around.

The two's conversation was abruptly interrupted by Jazz's two kids, Levi and Kellie, excitedly running through the door after a hard day of school. In each of their hands, they held their arts and crafts they had done that day. As soon as the two were through the doorframe, their mouths were running as fast as Danny's when he was on a roll with inspiring, sarcastic quotes.

Once the two set sights on their not-that-much-older uncle, they squealed in delight and raced to hug him, oblivious to the fact he wasn't completely thrilled with the gesture. However, he let them show affection to him before answering their questions on how long he was staying this time. Though crestfallen because he planned on leaving that night, they occupied themselves with telling their parents every single, little, tiny detail that had happened that day.

Danny wondered why adults couldn't be that descriptive.

As they chattered on, Robert made dinner while his spontaneous guest, wife, and children hung out in the kitchen. They all chatted (Danny being particularly annoying but toning it down some because of the children) and sipped on their beverages.

Robert made simple spaghetti, pasta sauce, and French bread. While sitting around the table, Danny taught the kids the wondrous word 'spaghettini'. Levi and Kellie were delighted to hear the new and silly word, repeating it nonstop while Danny smirked, Jazz face-palmed, and Robert tried to remain smiling, though his kids were slowly annoying him to death.

The two parents loved their children and, _to an extent_, Danny. Really, they did. But sometimes they wished they could lock their kids in a closet and throw Danny off a cliff, never to be seen again.

After the eventful dinner, Danny announced he had to leave because his 'supervisor' was probably going to kill him if he found out that Danny had blatantly disregarded orders and made a detour to Gotham City instead of heading straight back to Las Vegas, though they had no idea who his supervisor was, as Danny refused to tell.

After a heartfelt goodbye from the two children, Danny hugged his sister briefly and, much to his dismay, got a kiss on his forehead from his sister. Then he gave a huge, sarcastic hug to Robert, saying "I'll miss you so much, Robby! Don't ever forget me!"

Jazz's poor husband patted the ebony-haired male's back awkwardly while the rest of his family giggled quietly to themselves.

Once he was done making people feel conflicted, Danny hopped on his bike with a laugh, threw on his helmet, and quickly started up his bike with a big _roar_. While the small family jerked back, covering their ears, Danny was zooming from his spot and taking off down the road, doing a pop-a-wheely as he did.

Jazz watched after with a frown, not liking how her brother was trying to kill himself.

Danny's ride down the highway was pretty much uneventful. There was a couple times he had to outrun the cops like he had that morning but he usually managed to outrun them. If he didn't, he waited for the cops to get out of his sights before he sped up again and threw his ticket into the wind, never to be seen again.

With stops to eat and sleep, Danny made it back to Las Vegas from Gotham in three and a half days. It was most likely because he did thirty or forty above the legal speed limit most of the time (though he did maintain the normal speed limit when the cops were still in sight).

Driving into his home city, Danny felt exhilarated. Though Las Vegas didn't give the same vibe Gotham did, it made a person feel completely alive and, for Danny, at home. The flashing lights and nonstop going gave the illusion it was always day and never night, that people didn't sleep and they partied all the time. Granted, the entire city wasn't like that but the towering buildings made it seem that it was that way.

In his typical Danny-fashion, the nineteen-year-old disregarded all traffic laws while pulling into his apartment complex's parking lot. He found a spot and parked in it, ticking off another driver that was planning on taking the spot. Danny waved cheerily and smiled sweetly at them, getting the middle finger from them and a couple of creative swears.

After hopping off his bike, Danny strolled into the apartment complex, like it was completely natural for him to be walking through anything at three o'clock in the morning. No one gave him a second look though, since lots of people did it anyways.

The nineteen-year-old waltzed to the elevator, stifling a yawn as he did, and went up the three levels before exiting. Danny walked down the hall, taking out his keys and unlocking the door. He opened the door, slipping in and eagerly locking the door behind him again. As he turned around, ready to dive under his desk and onto his glorious mattress, he stopped short and let out a long groan.

"What do _you two_ want?!"

"Love you too, Danny." Sam said, spinning around in his rolly-chair while Tucker sat on one of the tables, playing Doomed as he did. He was very involved in his game, barely giving a wave to his friend, while Sam was smirking at the ebony-haired male while she spun around and around.

Tucker glanced over his shoulder and commented "Oh look, you dyed your hair again."

Danny glared at the back of his cocoa-skinned friend's head. "Guys… Get out of my house."

"Nah~!" Sam sang, still spinning. "I think we're just going to spend the night, right Tuck?"

"Yup."

"Oh please kill me…" Danny moaned in despair, staring at the ceiling as he tilted his back. "Please Lord; strike me down with lightning or something."

Sam and Tucker laughed darkly, continuing on with their annoying habits of dropping in whenever they felt like.

Danny let his backpack fall from his shoulders onto the ground. He threw off his shirt and kicked off his shoes and socks; his two friends watched as he did so. The ebony-haired teen walked past Sam and crawled under the table, ignoring how Tucker turned the volume of his game up.

"You guys should go home or sleep or something! We have school tomorrow!" Danny complained, throwing his blanket over his head to attempt to block out the blinding light from his computers.

Tucker scoffed. "Oh _please_. We're skipping and we all know you were planning to do the same."

"…shut up…"

"Uh-huh." Sam muttered, kicking her friend and earning a loud yelp in return to her violence.

"Leave me alone, guys! Go to sleep! _Please_!"

The two wide awake friends looked at each other slyly, dark smirks appearing on their faces.

"Alrighty then…" Tucker mumbled.

"…really?"

"Yup." Sam answered. Before Danny had time to ask what they were going to do, Tucker had flipped the lights off and the two ducked under the table, snuggling up to Danny and earning loud yells in resistance.

"You guys _suck_!"

"Go to sleep, Danny."

"Yeah, go to sleep Danny."

The ebony-haired teen made a face and grumbled irritably. He tried to make himself comfortable but his two friends (or traitors, in these few moments) were _so close_ and he couldn't move.

"…you guys really do suck though."

"Oh, we know. But you love us."

"_You're pushing it_."

Sam and Tucker laughed quietly while Danny shifted and bedded down. The three grew still, easily falling into the blessed darkness called sleep while the computers above them grew dark and quiet.

All was quiet, for once, in the small, dinky apartment the nineteen-year-old male called home.

* * *

**The song was Vanic X Tove Styrke - Borderline by Vanic. If you don't understand why I have decided to declare that the theme song, think a little deeper. *crazy grin* Or, at least, it should make sense by the end of the fic. *thumbs up***

**And I did mean to have this out yesterday. ...but I got two new comics so...that kinda took up my time...**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting and/or following: ****_PHOENIX1020, Missychikki, Anime Hotty Lover. 18, Saramaster, Fear the Fuzzy Bear, KainVixenheim, Roselin, AltoValGal, Kimera20, Kimori Takahashi, Purple-Vixen-Flames, Reading for Escape, Azorawing, Richard1081, Poohbearmorris, Dani of the Electroclan, Clueless Blu, Astroshadow, Alewar, Sarah. McQueen. 921, Bibliophilea, The Deranged Pan, SweetyKinz, Ladnik, MaterMind, Duel06., ZeroExia, JennaUtena, TheMysteriousOtaku, Barren the Inventor, I-am-a-book-loving-ninja, Oracle Shadow, Lord Jace._**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting and/or following me: ****_Fear the Fuzzy Bear, Otakubabes, MaterMind, Flames on Water, Purple-Vixen-Flames, Evaden, TheMysteriousOtaku, Jessica Jayme Bell._**

**Reviews:**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: XD I knew someone would appreciate the message... Updated!**

**Fear the Fuzzy Bear: Because of the one-shot "Fancy Meeting You", not in this one. But I plan on turning "Fancy Meeting You" into a one-shot series. XD Glad to hear I am loved!**

**KainVixenheim: Yup, I made a sequel. No, you will not pass if you do that cause I ain't God. XD**

**Guest of Honor: I've been updating! XD I got, like, three other stories out before this! One was a branch-off of this... Moving on. XD Ooohhh, this story is not going to be that smooth sailing! But when is it ever?! XDDDD**

**Azorawing: The annoying quirks make him who he is... XD Glad to hear!**

**Ninuhuju: Actually, he is (I'm going more into depth about his activities next chapter). The only thing we saw that was illegal was his reckless driving. You'll see what I mean by that next chapter. *thumbs up* :)**

**IWasNeverReal: Danny is _always_ an adorable wonder. XD**

**Expergiscimini: XD Ok then! Glad to know this was wanted.**

**Poohbearmorris: I posted it at two though... XD Messed up Danny and ticked off Bats is always amusing.**

**Clueless Blu: Aw, I'm so glad I can make you laugh and cry all at the same time! I love pulling emotions out of people. XD**

**Random Person: *salutes* That I am.**

**SweetyKinz: And now I'm the Tooth Fairy... This says a lot about our fantastic relationship. XD Hehehe~! I'm-a so happy your excited! And laughing on the inside, at least! XD And I'm glad you appreciated the accidently punching himself in the face part and the "repeat offender" comment. No one seemed to. XD YES! Danny's look pleases you! *throws hands in the air* I also love how you love my numberage. XD**

**Lord Jace: :D Sweet! I love hearing people enjoy this Danny everyone always seems to wanna smack. XD**

**Akra: Yuppers, I am back (I never left)! ...that is perfectly accurate description on Danny. XD It is a wonder how Batsy doesn't throw him off a cliff. *thumbs up* ...*laughs hysterically* Oh my gosh, that would be the most hilarious but the most boring I would ever write because I've BEEN an alter-servant! XD You mostly stand there and act solemn. **


	3. Life Goes On

Ch.3: Life Goes On

Danny grunted as he struggled to do another push press. He didn't have as much weight as he usually was prescribed but he was doing more of the movement than he usually did. So, either way, he was dying because the Dark Knight, his _oh-so-wonderful_ trainer (all sarcasm was implied), didn't believe in 'half-assing' anything fitness related. Frankly, he didn't believe doing a crummy job at anything but keeping in shape was a really big thing to him, even if Danny did have powers.

It was, to say the least, not how Danny wanted to spend his Saturday evening.

Batman, as Bruce, was working near him. He didn't seem to be having nearly as much trouble Danny was having, though he had slowed considerably since the beginning and his arms were trembling. The cobalt-eyed man was intense as ever, cowl or no cowl. His eyes were distant, things cranking in his brain. His hair was a mess but Bruce didn't seem to notice, too concentrated on his form and his thoughts.

Even after working out with him for over six months, Danny was still unnerved by the whole 'Bruce' persona, though he managed to hide it well. The nineteen-year-old was much more comfortable with Batman than he was the billionaire playboy. With the cowl on, Danny didn't have to acknowledge that the older male was human. Out of costume, though, Danny could see the emotion running through the older's eyes; he could see the humanity.

It was unnerving because Danny couldn't see the same humanness in his own eyes sometimes.

One of the only things that made working out tolerable was the music. Danny was allowed to pick it out or he ditched the entire session completely. Granted, Bruce usually dragged his sorry self to the class _anyways_ but that didn't necessarily mean Danny did it.

The nineteen-year-old wasn't surprised when the Dark Knight finished the workout before him. Bruce always did. He was more in shape than Danny ever strode to be. The blue-eyed junior went along at his own leisurely pace so he didn't puke like the first time he tried keeping up with the older. It was just a lost cause.

As Bruce bent down to gently rest the bar against the ground instead of ghost-riding, he took a peek at Danny's figure, watching him work with a critical eye, and said over the heavy metal "Slow down. You're overextending."

Danny gave a tiny nod once; he didn't even know if it was perceivable. The junior did as he was told and slowed a little, making sure not to arch his back when he pressed the bar up and over his head.

That was probably the only other thing Danny tolerated about the workouts. Bruce knew when you couldn't work any longer but, at the same time, he pushed you to do better. He also didn't care how fast you could do it. Form came first always. Without good form, the workout was completely pointless and ended with unnecessary pain, as well as problems in the future.

It was comforting to know Bruce wasn't trying to get him to literally die.

While Danny continued with the push presses, mouthing along with the words to Nightwish's music he was listening to, Bruce slid the plates off his bar and listened as they _thumped_ against the floor. He picked the bar up, took it over to the rack where the other bars were, and carefully put it back in its spot. Next, he took the various weighted plates he had used and stacked them in the corner with the other ones.

Once he had finished up his task, he walked over to the place he had left his water-bottle on a box and picked it up, flipping the cap off as he did. Bruce leaned against the box, watching Danny's form as the nineteen-year-old worked, a very intense look on his face. Sweat was pouring down his face but the junior was ignoring it in favor of trying to finish up the workout.

Bruce waited patiently for Danny to finish up, quietly reminiscing how far the junior had progressed. There had been a time Danny wouldn't have been able to finish the amount of push presses the Dark Knight assigned, along with the other things he had included to go along with it. There had been a time when Danny would flat-out _refuse_ to do any form of training. It had taken a lot of patience and a lot of time but the Dark Knight finally got him to stop complaining.

The undercover hero also noticed that Danny had been doing better reform-wise. He hadn't taken a job off the Dark-Net in months and stopped planning his own heists. Danny had alerted Batman to every big job someone else was taking. The male also got out of his hole sometimes and took on the occasional ghost that appeared from the random portals. He'd pretty much done everything his supervisor had asked of him. The nineteen-year-old had even managed to turn down his brutality rate some.

Granted, he still had the tendency to drive recklessly, skip school with his _wonderful_ friends, and drink alcohol, though he'd never been drunk before. When he was extremely agitated, he'd impulsively steal things without realizing what he was doing. He also had an extremely bad habit of _lying_, even about small, trivial things such as the _time of day_. No one in the League ever asked him any questions anymore because of said bad habit.

However, Danny hadn't stolen anything in months and he told the truth when it mattered. His habits were also considerably better than some heroes that were just a little messed up in the head from grief or loss.

The only other thing that showed Danny was, at least, trying to be better was the simple statement he had told the Dark Knight some months before: "I may not understand your morals, since some of them are bogus, but I will try to follow them. Though I make _no promises_ on the results."

Bruce took another sip of his drink, shaking his head and wondering why he always had to deal with the very complicated adolescents.

Danny silently thanked the heavens when he finished his push presses, letting the bar slip from his hands and hit the ground with a loud _bang. _He and Bruce were the only ones to hear it since they were the only ones that were in the gym.

Rolling his neck, Danny tried to even out his breathing while shaking out the aches in his arms.

"Be careful when you ghost-ride." Bruce called, having watched the junior stupidly drop the bar without a second thought.

Danny rolled his eyes, calling over his shoulder as he bent down "I _know_! You tell me that every time I do it."

"Well if you watched where dropped the bar, I wouldn't keep reminding you. Do I need to retell you the story of my failure?" Bruce asked, not amused in the slightest.

"No but you can if you want. Your pain always makes me laugh." Danny answered, flashing his cute smile over his shoulder as he undid the latches at the ends of the bars, sliding the plates off after. Bruce rolled his eyes but it went unnoticed as Danny went through the motions of replacing the bar on its rack and returning the plates to their stacks.

While Danny did this, he found that he was in one of his 'Bruce-annoys-the-_crap_-out-of-me' moods and felt the compelling need to be more annoying. He went in and out of various emotions with the Dark Knight. Sometimes he had nothing but overflowing affection for him, well hidden from the older of course, and sometimes he just wanted everything to go back to the way it was before Bruce had ever shown up so he could just do the thing he did best: cause many people trouble all at once.

After finishing up the little routine, Danny walked over to stand beside Bruce. He picked up his water bottle and began to drink greedily from it.

"Don't drink too fast. It makes you sick." Bruce instructed, tapping the end of the bottle sticking high in the air in a gesture to tip it downwards.

Danny did as he was told for a split second, glaring at the older with blue eyes. "I'll be _fine_. It's just water."

Bruce sighed and rolled his eyes, feeling a migraine coming on. Danny continued gulping down large amounts of water, going directly against the older's wishes that he should slow down. He chugged until all the water was gone from the bottle, save for the teardrops clinging to the sides of the plastic that would eventually evaporate.

Immediately upon crushing the plastic bottle and throwing it in the garbage, Danny was hit with a wave of nausea. He hid it well though, not willing to give Bruce the satisfaction of seeing him getting smacked around with the consequences of not listening when he should have.

"How you feeling?" Bruce asked. It was the same question he asked after every workout on Saturdays, no matter how obvious it was that Danny was feeling. He asked because he wanted to hear about the younger's week and how it had affected him. He asked it the way he did because he didn't know how else to ask.

Danny shrugged, hopping onto the box next to the older but making sure to keep a considerable distance. The weekly "heart-to-hearts" were always uncomfortable to him. It was hard enough saying anything he was feeling to Batman's face. Bruce's face made it just that much harder.

"Nothing much happened. You were there for part of it." Danny answered, referring back to the mission in Metropolis.

Bruce nodded. "I know. But how was your sister?"

Danny grumbled, knowing his cover was blown. He hadn't told the other about the visit but he should've known the Dark Knight would've found out anyways. "It was good. We just talked for a couple of hours and I left that night. And I bet you're still ticked at me for taking my sweet time on getting back to Vegas."

"You forgot skipping school too." Bruce added, sparing a glance at the male at his side.

"It was Friday. It seemed like a great time to skip than ever." Danny stated, waving off the thing he did with little thought. School, to him, was useless. Was he ever going to use any of the knowledge they were drilling in his head with a jackhammer of persistence? No, he was not.

Bruce rolled his eyes. "Keep ditching and I'll have to start taking you again."

Danny stuck his tongue out.

The junior lapsed in and out with his school attendance record. He'd be good about it for a couple of months before he'd only show up every three or four days at the least. It always took Batman beaming all the way to Las Vegas every morning to make sure Danny was at his apartment, getting up on time, and actually trailing him to the school for a month and a half to get the teen back on track and caught up with his work.

If Riddler ever used the question 'how did Danny pass sophomore year?', Bruce was sure he would get the answer wrong and lose the battle, no matter long he studied the question and came up with how many answers to complete the riddle.

"Anything else?" Bruce asked, noticing how Danny had mostly cooled off and was probably going to start begging for a shower at any minute.

The nineteen-year-old shook his head, not really having worth saying to his friend. His week had been, in a sense, uneventful. The mission he was assigned to was easy and his trip home was quiet. Danny had mostly just been with himself and his thoughts. Nothing else had been there to keep him company except for his music, the roar of his motorcycle, and the strong beating of his heart when he felt an exhilarating rush coarse through his veins.

Bruce searched Danny's face for any sign that he was hiding something from him. The older ebony-haired male found nothing but thoughts running through his face and different emotions speeding through the nineteen-year-old's eyes.

The billionaire nudged Danny's arm, saying "Alright then. We're done here. You can go wash up and then you can start on your homework."

Danny scowled at the thought of the homework waiting for him (because seven hours of brainwashing wasn't enough) but got up and began walking towards the guy's locker room. No one would be in there, fortunately, leaving Danny to get cleaned up by himself.

Even at the beginning of his shower, Danny didn't like the silence, though he enjoyed the solitude that came with it. He, very quietly, hummed to himself just to make some noise. Danny never liked silence, no matter what the feeling in the air was; it always seemed so vacant of life and energy.

Danny finished cleaning up quickly and put on the clothes he usually wore. His red bangs were still bright as ever, though the dampness made them extra vibrant in color and shiny against the harsh, florescent lights along the ceiling. His black t-shirt and midnight jeans were same as ever, while his socks were white with grey accents on the toes and heels.

The nineteen-year-old scoured the Watchtower for his supervisor. He didn't worry about protecting his identity against the few Leaguers haunting the halls, as they were too scared to do anything with the knowledge anyways. More likely than not, Danny already knew their identities or had the resources to find out with little trouble on his part. The heroes moved on, casting glances and small greetings to the junior. He replied with a simple nod as he moved on.

Danny found Batman, suited up and cowl on, sitting by his usual computer, working casually on a small case for Gotham. Off to the side, there was a table with all his crummy homework waiting for him in a pile.

The nineteen-year-old was relieved to see his supervisor back in costume. Though he knew how to hide his feelings about no-cowls and act natural, Bruce just made Danny uneasy. He didn't know why. Maybe it was his resemblance to Jack Fenton; maybe it was because Danny had crashed his party. But no matter the reason, he just didn't like being with Bruce Wayne.

Walking over, Danny stood behind Batman for a few seconds before the Dark Knight silently pointed to the table with the homework. Danny whined and pouted, batting his eyes in hopes of getting out of it. His pout was met with a dry look. The black-clad hand was still pointing to the table, not a waver anywhere to be seen. Danny groaned and trudged over to his workspace, wishing the Dark Knight would just send him home so he could just torch the scraps of paper.

The two worked in silence until it was abruptly broken by Danny's iPod blaring his "theme song". The Dark Knight sighed before casting a glare at the junior. Danny just smiled and mouthed along to the words, watching as Batman carefully listened to the words of the chorus as he gazed at Danny's teasing expression. He motioned for Danny to change the song, at least, so he didn't have to listen to the song before going back to work while trying to keep his mind from wandering.

Danny took it as a small victory in one of his and Batman's small "battles-of-wills" and began going to work as well, changing the song as he was told.

It wasn't long before both were abruptly stopped by Danny's mouth.

"This is completely bogus! Why the heck am I learning this?!" Danny yelled in frustration at his math homework. He wondered when he was ever going to use some of the equations he was learning and realized that, oh, he wasn't ever going to use them.

Batman sighed, noticing he gotten any further into his case. "They're trying to teach a concept. No, you will not use the actual equations but you will use _the concept_."

"_Yes! _Because we all need to know the concept on how to add sixty frikkin watermelons and fifty-some-odd mangos! Thanks Batman! I would never get anywhere in life without your _wonderful _insight! What would I do without you?" Danny asked sarcastically, eyes wide in mock amazement.

"Get condemned to death by the government." Batman bit back, quickly followed by all his muscles locking up at the words that fell from his mouth.

Danny froze, a million things running through his mind before it all just shut down. He hunched over his desk, scrawling something on his homework sheets and turning the music up louder.

Batman sighed but didn't say anything, going back to his case while rubbing his temple.

It wasn't the first time the two had spontaneously fallen into a fight after doing something that was _almost_ sentimental. The two just had the natural talent of rubbing each other the wrong way, which sparked into mild agitation, quickly followed by a comment from one of them before everything spun out of control. There had been many fights and almost none of them had been resolved. They'd just been left to die on their own and were never spoken of again. Who would be the one to cross the line was always unpredictable and depended on how long the fight lasted. Danny had more endurance with verbal fights and Batman was quick to be snappy but they both had their fair share of 'things-that-I-should've-had-said'.

Batman and Danny worked in silence, the exception being the blaring music Danny had turned up. An uncomfortable air surrounded them while they tried to concentrate on what their work was but found it only ended in complete failure. They were too busy thinking about what was drifting through the other's mind.

Batman noticed how Danny was blowing through his work. From what he could see without turning his head too much, the nineteen-year-old was just scribbling words on the paper and moving along to the next sheet of homework. However, he was stuck with a case of 'not-being-able-to-type-a-single-word-without-hitting-the-backspace-button-somewhere-along-the-lines'. Danny did not seem to share his problem.

The junior, once he finished blowing through his work, stuffed all his books and loose-leaf papers into the bag beside the table. He got up quickly, mumbling that he was going home and that all his work was finished (though that didn't necessarily mean it was done well).

As Danny stalked towards the portals, acting like a man on a mission, Batman sighed and stood up, following after. "Danny, wait."

The red-banged male continued walking, not a sign on his face that he heard the Dark Knight. It didn't matter though. One of Batman's strides was two strides for Danny. Gotham's Guardian quickly caught up with the junior, grabbing his arm and forcing him to look at him. Lips pursed but a calm look on his face, Danny looked up at the Dark Knight with a questioning gaze.

"I'm sorry." Batman said plainly and released his hold on Danny's arm. It was the only thing he had to say. Danny could retreat at that moment for all he cared. He'd said what needed to be said. The Dark Knight didn't believe in unnecessary details.

Danny nodded. "Me too. Shouldn't have started it."

Batman gave a nod back, showing he heard and understood. Danny shrugged his backpack over his shoulder better before saluting and walking away. The Dark Knight watched him work with the portal controls before beaming himself back to Las Vegas, back to his home.

Turning, Batman walked back to his computer. He fell back into the chair with another sigh, rubbing his head. He tried to work. He really did. He found he just wasn't in it like he had been.

* * *

Danny dropped his backpack by one of his computer consoles and let a long sigh slip from his lips. Rubbing his face, he tried to ease the solemn feeling from his brain and from his body. It remained in him like a virus and he dropped his hands to his side, looking around his small apartment for something to occupy his mind. Even though he had all the resources to drown himself in amusement, nothing piqued his interest or curiosity. Not even messing with a bunch of crummy villains sounded pleasing to him.

Leaning against one of the tables, Danny looked back and forth, taking in every detail he could see. The junior half-expected something to jump out at him. After about five minutes of searching, an idea struck. It was a stupid one but it would work.

Pulling up one of his hologram-computers, Danny punched one of his sequences into the keyboard. The words 'Calling: The Sexiest Man Alive' flashed across the screen and Danny couldn't help the small smile that spread across his lips at the name. It hadn't been his idea at the time and he had planned on changing the ID. But it had just been too funny to change.

Tucker's face appeared on the screen, a pair of goggles over his face. "What do you want?! Can you not see I'm playing with dangerous chemicals?!"

"No." Danny answered, rolling his eyes.

"…well you should!"

Danny sighed, an annoyed tone lacing it. He shook his head and dryly looked at his friend. "Ok, anyways, is Sam doing one of her gigs at the casino tonight?"

"Yeah, why?" Tucker asked, curiously.

Danny tilted his head. "You wanna go and get a drink?"

Tucker shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Something wrong?"

"Nope. Just feel like going out. Don't forget to bring your fake ID." Danny answered, the lie easily passing from his lips without a second thought.

Tucker smiled. "As long as you don't forget to bring the credit card you lifted from someone's wallet yesterday."

Danny pressed a finger to his smirking lips, whispering a 'shh'. Quietly, he said "Batsy doesn't know about that."

Tucker barked a laugh. "But we know he will by tomorrow when you're wasted!"

"How'd you know I was planning on getting wasted?"

"Dude, I am one of your best friends. Heck, I am one of your _only_ friends. I can tell when you're lying straight to my face."

Danny's smirk slipped and he closed his eyes, irritated and tired.

"Now we're going to head down and you don't have to tell me the problem, just tell me you'll let me drive you home if you _do_ get roaring drunk. I don't want you to get hit by a car." Tucker said.

"Thanks Tuck." Danny said plainly, all the meaning in his words easily being understood by the cocoa-skinned boy.

"Anytime, D, anytime…"

* * *

**...the last part of this chapter was going to be funny. I swear. But then the serious part of my mind took the funny part of my minf hostage, put a gun to its head, and threatened to destroy it entirely if I didn't write the ending the way I did. Needless to say, the next chapter is much more funny now that my hilarious side is back. So... Anticipation? *nervous smile***

**Thanks to these people for favoriting and/or following: ****_MaterMind, Messie23, Cookiesgal24, DaniFenton7thGradePhantom, Ninuhuju, Spawn of Nerdom, Gigabyte2598, Jessica Jayme Bell, Atriesian, Nytwyng, Fluteplayer99, Scheffelman, HalfaWitchPhysicGirl, Expergiscimini._**

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**Reviews:**

**SomeItalian: Except you were signed in... XD And he might have, depending on the casino.**

**I-am-a-book-loving-ninja-pie: We all love it when Danny annoys Bats. XD Aww, thanks for the awesome support, dude!**

**MaterMind: Really? That's so cool cause I've done the same before! Keep smiling, dude! (Ignore this chapter to do so.)**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Thank you. I try! **

**Roselin: I hate it when that happens. XD Glad to hear!**

**Poohbearmorris: That, or he's really tired and doesn't have the strength to blast them in the face. XD**

**IWasNeverReal: Oh, definitely poor Robert... XD Hahaha! Of course they're wicked in every sense of the word! They're the Trio!**

**KainVixenheim: Yeah, no. XD And Jason physically can't be in this or the entire world would collapse because the one-shot takes place a year _after_ this. XD But I do plan on making a couple of other one-shots for that shot.**

**Dani: Haha, thanks dudes! Glad to see you're enjoying! *salutes***

**Phantom Heir Daughter of Zeus: I actually don't know when they're coming but I'll try!**

**Ninuhuju: Thank you! You are the only one who agrees with me so far! XD He should be a junior since it's only been a year and he was a sophomore last story... So he's almost there! XD**

**16ckelman: He's Danny. He thinks karma doesn't exist in his case. XD**

**Sarra Torrens: Haha, thanks!**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: XD Haha, oh my gosh! Thanks so much! As for your question: shortest. It takes skill to get done that quickly. XD**

**Fluteplayer99: Thanks! And criminal-Danny was too good to pass up for long! **

**Ava: XD Yup! Sequel time~! Aw, thanks dude! I've been trying to go for original-ness! So far, it's working! XD (Annoying Bats is loads of fun...)**

**Scheffelman: Yep-a-roos.**

**Expergiscimini: Yup~! XD**

**Guest(1): I don't like writing romance between the main character's I use. In my mind, romance is a complete afterthought. I also don't like writing romance. *thumbs up***


	4. Normalacy But Never For Long

Ch.4: Normalcy But Never For Long

Batman waited patiently on top of Danny's apartment building for any signs of the boy leaving it. He didn't expect the nineteen-year-old to show his face quite yet, being just a little too early for the boy's tastes. Danny would leave, if he planned on going to school that day, in about fifteen minutes at most. If he decided to go earlier all depended on his boredom and what was happening at the building of learning that day.

The Dark Knight had beamed himself all the way from Gotham to the city halfway across the country, since Danny showed signs of relapse again. He missed all of last week (because he took his _sweet, precious time_ when traveling) and missed three out of five days the last week. Sam and Tucker were following his example, as always. Or maybe they had a vote on which days they missed. Batman really didn't know (nor did he have any interest in finding out).

While waiting, the dark-clad hero watched the cars zooming up and down the street below and went over the case file he'd been working on the day he and Danny got in one their fights. Batman was sure it had blown over by now, since the sting from the arguments only ever lasted a day or so. It was starting to come to the point that the lapse of time was becoming shorter; a few hours in some cases even.

The lights dancing across the city were dazzling and inspiring to some. The light of the sun was starting to make itself known in the east, barely painting the horizon a dark shade of blue. Most wouldn't be able to see it, though, because they were too wrapped up in casinos and hotels.

Batman waited a patient fifteen minutes before he started looking for Danny's form, possibly his friends', to exit the complex. Much to his agitation, no teenagers-going-on-adults exited the apartment building, heading down the street with their backpacks over their shoulder as they complained about school and life and teachers and school and other students and homework and _school_…

The Dark Knight gave it another ten minutes before sighing, standing, and making his way to his entrance. It wasn't hard to get the window open, since Danny always left it open for him, unless he was angry with Batman. Then he had to pry the window open, get in before Danny could push him out, and then have a nice "heart-to-heart" talk (AKA yelling spree with both of them screaming).

Slipping through, Batman looked around the apartment before he almost face-palmed. He barely suppressed the urge, moving forward to stand beside Danny at his new kitchen table that was nothing more than a tiny card table. Sam was sleeping half on Danny's mattress, like she had been crawling out before collapsing. Tucker was curled up on one of the tables beside the computers, hugging the keyboard to him lovingly.

Danny was sitting at the card table with his face in his cereal bowl. Small, white milk splatters were around the bowl and his spoon lay under his hand, ready to be used.

Throughout the room, a small, lingering scent of alcohol wafted about.

Grabbing him by his hair, Batman gently pulled Danny's face out of the bowl with a deadpan expression. Milk dripped down his face and a couple pieces of Chex stuck to his face, quickly falling back onto the table or in the bowl. Even so, the nineteen-year-old slept on.

"Hey. Danny." Batman called, flicking the junior's temple to wake him up.

The ebony-haired boy stirred, reaching up and rubbing his face as he straightened in his seat. Batman let go of his hair, watching as Danny pulled his hands away from his face, staring at the wet mess in confusion. Blue eyes were cloudy with sleepiness. The fog was slowly lifting though, so the Dark Knight didn't worry too much about him being hung over.

"You wanna tell me why you're trying to drown yourself in your cereal bowl?" Batman asked, raising a questioning eyebrow at his misguided ward.

Danny shrugged and, with a sarcastic tone lacing his tone, answered "I became suicidal in the one day we didn't talk because I missed you _so much_…"

Batman glared while Danny got up and grabbed a paper towel to wipe his face off. While getting all the milk off his face, Batman asked Danny "You guys been drinking again?"

"Yup."

"When?"

"Saturday night and last."

"You guys drunk?"

"Nada."

"Identity theft or fake IDs?"

"Both. Had the fake IDs for obvious reasons but I lifted a debit card off one of the jock's at my school, like, two weeks ago."

Batman sighed. "_Why_?"

Danny shrugged. "He wouldn't suck up a rejection like a man, kept blubbering all through the day, so I stole the card so he'd have something worth crying about."

"…"

"…was I not supposed to do that?"

Batman's glare deepened. "You're fully aware of what the law says to identity theft. You're fully aware of what _I _say to identity theft. You're not stupid."

"But I am uncompassionate."

"Yes, you are that. Now, get your friends up; you all have school today. And pour a bottle of cologne on you or something. I don't want the LVPD calling me to bail you out because you all were drinking again." Batman said, walking over to stand beside Danny's desktops, shaking Tucker awake.

Sam and Tucker woke up groggily, just like Danny, but regained their sense rather quickly. In a couple of minutes, the three had gotten a quick bite to eat, brushed their teeth, and down a heck of job of spraying almost an entire bottle of Danny's Axe all over them. They came up with a quick lie if anyone complained, not willing to let anything slip by them.

Once done, Batman began shooing them out the door with their bags, telling them that he'd be trailing them from the rooftops. Groans met his ears and the Dark Knight couldn't have been more pleased with their reaction.

Once they were out the door, Batman fled to the roof. With a smirk on his face, he watched the juniors exit the apartment complex. They were already deep in a conversation about how much Danny's supervisor sucked, knowing said supervisor was on the roof and in hearing distance. Though they didn't bother to look up where he was, they knew his smirk was only growing as he listened to all the creative insults spilling from their mouths.

Batman trailed the three to the school. The building of learning was only a few blocks down the road, much to their horror and the Dark Knight's relief. Batman watched the trio enter the large building, easily falling in line with the other students entering, and requested to be beamed back up to the Watchtower so the Dark Knight could get home. Even though people were just getting up in Vegas, the residents of Gotham had been up for hours and Batman had a _job _to uphold and all that.

* * *

Entering the school, the tight-knit group of teens grimaced at the other students. The hallways were tiny and there wasn't much space for anyone to move around. It was one of the reasons they liked showing up late (or not at all, sometimes). Who liked being so close to people you could feel the heat radiating off their forms and smell whatever cosmetics they put on?

After mingling through the crowd, they had to split up to get to their lockers. They agreed to meet up at first period (because Danny had personally seen to it that they got the same classes) before leaving their little group.

Danny opened his locker after spinning the code on his lock. He exchanged a couple of books and knick-knacks, shoving them into his book bag. Once he was done with his little exchange, he shut his locker and spun his dial around, landing on a random number with no discernible pattern. Danny shrugged his bag over his shoulder and began waltzing down the hall, trying to ignore the other _prisoners_ in the hall.

The nineteen-year-old strolled through the halls, turning into one of the open doors. His locker was closest to the first period class. His two friends would be showing up at any minute, right on his tail.

Taking a seat in the back, Danny pulled his ever-present beanie better over his head and over his ears. He'd barely grabbed it on the way out his door, shoving it over his head so the only visible part of his hair was his blood red bangs.

The other students eyed the look but it didn't take long to blow over. Someone dying their hair wasn't exactly abnormal, especially if that person was Danny.

The junior dug out one of his faulty devices he'd brought from home. While waiting for his two friends to show up, he played around with the parts inside. The piece of equipment was just supposed to be an advanced ray-gun for fighting off ghosts. It'd be a lot stronger than the original ray but the effect would still be the same, though the higher blast strength might injure the specters. He wasn't quite sure on that part and didn't feel like testing it on himself in case it _did_ hurt.

Danny had barely begun rewiring the new device before Sam entered, choosing a seat in front of her ebony-haired friend. Turning around in her seat, Sam watched the boy play around with his device, trying to hardwire it so it would finally work properly instead of _exploding_ in his face like the last time.

"Is it the same ma-jigger you were working on last time?" Sam asked, noticing some significant changes in the design since the last time she saw it.

Danny looked up at her with a deadpan expression. "_Ma-jigger_?"

Sam glared. "Answer the question."

Rolling his eyes, Danny shook his head and answered "Yeah, it's the same _ma-jigger_. The last design didn't work so I had to make some revisions to it. Piece of crap just doesn't want to come together though."

"Why can't you just up the blast strength on the first one?" Sam asked, not too worried about others overhearing their conversation. Most thought Danny worked on his projects for his advanced technology class. What they didn't know was that Danny got all his projects done _in class_.

Ignorance is bliss, unless you're driving a car.

"Tried. Can't." Danny answered, scowling. "The design isn't big enough to hold that kind of power. The one I tried that on nearly blew my hand off."

"Why do all of your devices explode when they don't work?"

"I don't know! It gets really irritating when the thing that blows up shouldn't have the capabilities _to _blow up!"

Sam began clapping sarcastically when Tucker walked in, sauntering to the back and taking a seat next to Danny. "Boy, you impress me in ways I didn't think were possible."

"What'd he do this time?" Tucker asked, looking between the two with a small hint of confusion hidden behind a mask of curiosity.

"Blew stuff up." Sam answered, shrugging.

Tucker rolled his eyes. "He's been doing that for years, Sam. Not new."

Danny glared at the boy, sticking his tongue out, before yelping. His hand flew from the device, glaring at his singed flesh while the students look at him curiously. While his two friends laughed, Danny cursed under his breath and mumbled about stupid electricity always shocking him to death.

While Danny tried to fix what his hand had jerked away from, the teacher walked in with her bag, kicking the door-stop out from under the plank of wood. Her high heels clicked against the tile as she set her stuff down, saying a dull greeting to her students while she set her bag on the ground beside her desk. The students replied with an equally as bored greeting back, leaning back to brace themselves from the words of learning sure to come from the teacher's mouth at any moment.

Danny sighed while his two friends groaned, turning to the front with unhappy expressions. The red-banged male slipped his unfinished ray gun back in his bag, zipping it up quietly before slumping in his seat.

The teacher, Mrs. White, looked over her students as she did attendance, briefly saying their names. As she came across the three in the back corner, she said a dry "Well I'm glad to see you three decided to show up this week. Danny, I see you dyed your hair again."

The boy in question face-palmed and groaned while Sam and Tucker snickered in front and beside him. "Why does everyone have to point out I dyed my hair? Does it have some special significance to you people?!"

"Just that it says how much of douche you are." One of the jocks in the back, Dash, commented. Some students laughed, others shrunk in their seats for the oncoming battle, and White angrily blew her hair out of her face.

"Dashiel, don't you _dare_ start another fight."

"I may be a douche but at least I don't sleep with every girl I meet, despite the fact I'm in a relationship." Danny retorted to the boy, flipping him off and leaning back in his seat with a smirk.

Sam and Tucker didn't bother to hide their amusement while the others in the class began getting nervous. Dash was turning red with anger while his buddies, though not nearly as ticked, had milder versions of his expression on their faces as well.

"Daniel." White snapped at him.

Danny smirked. "Cheri."

Some students' mouths dropped open because you didn't just call a teacher by their first name. That was equal to a death wish.

White pointed to the closed door, seething. "Get out."

Danny saluted, eagerly getting up and throwing his bag over his shoulder. "The pleasure is all mine. No, seriously. You just saved me a migraine."

While Danny waltzed away, Sam and Tucker laughed in their hands, the students got ready for the brutal lesson they were about to take, and the teacher finished off the rest of the attendance quickly before beginning the lesson of the day.

Even though he missed first period, Danny didn't make a habit of it for the rest of the day. He went to all his classes with his friends, did his work (though he put no effort in it), and listened to his teachers (most of the time). He managed to keep damages to school property a minimum and even avoided insulting Dash and his buddies to an extent.

Sam and Tucker were quite impressed with this feat. Though their self-control wasn't the best, it was still better than Danny's and they got in a lot less trouble because of it. So when Danny told them he only got a couple of detentions, they were like a couple of proud parents.

After detention, the Trio split up and went to their separate homes. Tucker had things to work on and Sam felt the compelling need to train. Danny had things he needed to do himself, like fix the faulty ray-gun in his bag, and agreed to see them the next day at school, knowing Batman was going to be watching his actions very closely over the next couple of weeks if his morning was anything to go by.

Once he was home, the first thing Danny did was set his homework in the sink and torch it. It didn't take long for the sheets to become engulfed, quickly turning to ash within a minute or so. The burnt paper was quickly washed down the drain after.

Sitting down at his desk, Danny dug his device out and began the painful process of trying to get it to work. He spent a long time staring into its dark opening, trying to fix the wires and circuitry inside. Time became a distant thing; the male's brain couldn't comprehend the simple fact of life at points. He forgot what day it was, where he was, and who he was. All he knew was that the stupid device _wasn't working_ and it was _ticking him off_.

Danny was so enveloped in his work he didn't hear his video-phone ringing on his computer. The caller ID he had set up blared across the green and black background of the Dark-Net in white letters. The little phone symbol above the caller ID seemed to vibrate every time the ringtone rang, trying to alert the red-banged male that someone was trying to get a hold of him, even telling Danny who was calling.

By the third call, Danny was slipping back into reality instead of his timeless, angry zone. He reached out, patting the table in front of him because he didn't have the strength to look away from his work. The nineteen-year-old's hand found the keyboard after some time and pressed the enter button.

"What?" Danny snapped, still not looking up.

"…can't you ever greet me kindly?"

"No." Danny answered, casting a glance up at the Dark Knight's face on his screen. His blue eyes quickly fell back down to his work without a second thought. "Now what do you want?"

"Something's come up. I thought you might be interested."

Danny paused. What information could Batman have for him this time?

"But everyone needs to stay out of it for the time being."

Danny looked up, confusion and curiosity flitting across his expression. His blue eyes were swimming with emotion, unsure of what to do. "Even from Sam and Tuck?"

Batman nodded. "This is something that needs to stay between you and me just for the moment."

Danny narrowed his eyes, setting his work down and standing up. His arms crossed over his chest while he tilted his head to the side. "What's so important that I can't even tell my only friends about it? You've never made me keep secrets from them like this before."

"No, but with the information comes with a mission, if you're up for it." Batman stated, showing no signs of relenting his 'locked-lips' policy.

Danny thought about the offer for a moment, understanding where his older friend was coming from with this. Missions could be jeopardized if someone interrupted Danny's role, though they usually weren't all that important. Most of the time, he played decoy and the person that kept other people busy. From his tone, Batman was giving him a new role that was much bigger than his usual characters.

Tilting his head to the side curiously, Danny asked "So what's the info?"

"Not that easy. I can't just tell you over the phone." Batman stated, his serious expression not once faltering.

"What? Why not? Is the big, bad Bat afraid someone will hack my impenetrable firewalls and listen in on our conversation?" Danny mock-pouted, though on the inside he was offended the Dark Knight thought someone could hack his systems that easily.

Batman's serious expression never faltered. "They're not impenetrable, Danny. You know that. Remember, I hacked into them multiple times during your rogue days."

Danny waved his hand around, trying to conjure an image in the air. "Yeah, and I've had about a hundred upgrades since then and I _let _you in all those times. I quite enjoyed making you feel guilty all those months ago."

"You still do."

"Oh, you noticed that? Good. I didn't think I was doing my job quite good enough and was about to bump up my game."

"Please don't." Batman stated, dryly. An equally as dry glare was given to the teen while he smirked and waved cutely, turning his seat and tilting his head to the side so the Dark Knight could see his profile. His shoulders were out of balance, with one dipping downwards the other standing erect as the boy leaned his whole body to the side, even though it was just his head he was going for.

Still not amused, Batman merely said "Request to be beamed over to Gotham on Saturday. Martian Manhunter will be on duty and is already aware of the arrangement. He won't ask questions."

"He doesn't need to. _He reads minds_!" Danny yelled at his supervisor, a total look of 'you're-so-stupid' on his face.

"Thank you for stating the obvious."

"That's also part of my job, if you didn't notice. My mouth tends to run _a lot_."

Batman sighed. "Good night, Danny."

"It's night?!" Danny yelled, looking out his window before casting his gaze back down to his unfinished and faulty gadget. "Holy crap…What did I make?! A time machine?! No way would Clockwork willingly let me do that kind of crap on his watch! …oh, that was such a bad pun…"

"_Good night, Danny._"

"Can't you see I'm in the middle of a crisis here, Bats?"

Batman broke the connection before the red-banged boy could say anymore. Danny smirked, leaning back in his seat, and propping his feet on his table. Picking up his device, he began tinkering with it again while he sighed contently. "Ticked off the Bat for the day: check."

* * *

**HA! And ya'll thought he'd get drunk! Ha, no, no, he knows how to hold his alcohol. XD Anyways, I'm just going to jump into the main point of this plot. Fun times, ya'll!**

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**Reviews:**

**Roselin: Aw, glad to hear! Makes my day brighter!**

**Expergiscimini: Sure, why not? Go get drunk with Danny. XD**

**KainVixenheim: Sorry, Danny is another universe. Therefore, he cannot take over our world. XD**

**Sarra Torrens: Welcome back! I hate work so~.**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Not sure on the question, though, so far, it appears to be a 'no' since I'm not too acquainted with the ones after Dick grows up and becomes Nightwing. So... Yeah.**

**SomeItalian: What is up with the mafia thing all the sudden? XD It's not that interesting (then again, opinions are opinions)!**

**Scheffelman: *hug accepted***

**Dani: Hahaha! Glad ya'll like what I've got going so far! You screamed? Fantastic. *sinister smile* Muhahahaha!**

**SweetyKinz: It's illegal to do that in California? Really? Danny would go just to break said law. XD Robert and the world should definatey be scared of the Lil' Rat! Especially later! XD How Batman puts up with Danny is a mystery... Just sayin'. Bats breaks down every once in awhile. XD GO TUCKER!**

**Guest of Honor: Yeah... Apparently, it didn't work that way. XD But stuff will happen. You just need to wait for a bit.**

**IWasNeverReal: Oh, definitely. He needed his moment in the spotlight of awesomeness.**

**Poohbearmorris: It's a mystery, Danny's hair. XD None of us would but Batman's got the patience of a lifetime hidden behind annoyance.**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: Yeah... Stupid serious part of my mind. XD**

**Ninuhuju: Yeah! It is! When it doesn't end in disaster, that is! :D**

**Brownieg: Haha! Yeah! It's out! And no, Danny's not going to be paired with anyone. My romance stories go like this: *romance is a big thing* *forget they're a couple till the end of the story* *makes it a big thing again, even though everyone else forgot too*. It's happened a dozen times and I've decided to just drop all romance period. XD**

**HalfaWitchPhysicGirl: Haha! A sequel was too good to pass up! It needed to be done! XD My updating schedule is going to be "whenever I feel like it". XD It'll be all over the place so bear with me!**

**Oblitus Angeli: Yes, I remember you. XD Glad you enjoy my take on Criminal!Danny! And no, I've never seen SAO. I'll look into it. XD Oh look, Danny didn't get wasted! Don't you hate it when that happens? And I have an idea on how his powers came to be in this universe but I don't know if it'll ever come up. I'll let you know if I don't.**


	5. Missions

Ch.5: Missions

Danny looked up at Wayne Manor, arms crossed over his chest as he looked up at the mansion with bored eyes. The first time he had been there, the day he snuck in as a servant to stake out the place, he'd been impressed. The second time, the day of his job, he was still a little at awe but it had mostly worn off. Now, standing in front of the huge house for the third time, nothing made much of an impression on him. He noticed how the lawn was recently tidied up, how one of the windows was new, and that it had a new coat of paint.

Really, Wayne Manor had not changed much since the last time he'd seen it. Sights got old real fast for him.

Walking up, Danny's boots clacked against the paved driveway. The backpack over his shoulder thumped against his back with each step up the small incline. As he waltzed up, he wondered why it seemed most mansions sat on top of a hill. Was it to make them seem more spectacular or something? Really all they did was make your legs hurt.

Jogging up the front steps, Danny couldn't help but mutter disdainfully "Up, up, and away…"

Danny fixed his leather jacket as his feet hit the front porch. He shrugged his backpack better on, not liking how it beat against his back at his quick steps. He held the straps around his sides tightly, wearing an expressionless mask on his face as he let one go to knock on the door. He had barely finished knocking when Alfred answered the door. The aging butler was not at all surprised by his supposed random visit. He invited the younger inside in all his British glory, telling him how his 'master' had told him of the nineteen-year-old's coming.

Danny rolled his eyes as he stepped inside, looking around the foyer with hardly any interest. A building was a building. Though magnificent in its own way, the Dark-Net ruler was more impressed with the tech coming out these days. Nothing was more interesting than getting new play-things.

"Can I take your jacket, Sir?" Alfred asked, sounding like the typical English butler.

Danny shook his head, preferring to keep his jacket on. "Nah thanks. I'll just keep it on for the time being."

Alfred nodded and began walking from the room, gesturing for the younger to follow. Danny followed behind, staying quiet in the older's presence. He'd tried ticking off the older long ago. Nothing he said or did seemed to phase Alfred, which was irritating because even Batman responded to his quips.

Danny was led to a courtyard, where Bruce was waiting with a ten-year-old kid. The red-banged nineteen-year-old immediately assumed it was the Bat's newest Robin he got a couple months back, whom Danny had not yet met. Frankly, he hadn't wanted to meet him before. He had no intention of meeting any of the Bat's old kids. It was hard enough dealing with the original as it was.

The only one that seemed cool enough was the Red Hood, the second Robin. He was all over the Dark-Net and he was the black sheep of the family, going as far as using guns and killing to get the job done. He was an interesting character.

"Sup Brucie." Danny greeted, shrugging his backpack over his shoulder and throwing it beside a chair. He fell into it, leaning back and putting one of his ankles over his knee.

Bruce nodded in acknowledgement. "Danny."

Blue eyes flickered from the adult to the child, dwarfed by both his father and the guest. Danny smirked, waving. "Hello Half-Pint."

The kid didn't even bother to answer the older boy. He just turned to the adult, who was sighing, and said "This is the imbecile you work with? He's barely twenty!"

"You're ten." Bruce reminded, casting a pleading look at his guest.

Danny shrugged and smirked. "Besides Kiddo, I ain't an imbecile. I may sound like one. I may dress like one. But I'm not one. That title is specifically for the people who run around dressed like winged-rats and little red birds."

The ten-year-old was already popping a vein. Such an easy little target…

"Damian, he's just trying to get a rise out of you. The angrier you get, the more his mouth runs." Bruce soothed, rubbing his temple for the oncoming migraine that was already forming. He hated how Danny had such a way with words sometimes…

"Listen to Daddy. He always seems to be right." Danny stated, batting his eyes at the kid, Damian, while smirking darkly. The cute look he tried to possess, once again, was not quite working with that kind of smirk.

Damian glared. "He _is_ always right."

Danny's grin broadened, leaning forward in his seat towards the table. "Oh yeah? Is that what you think? Oh kid, sorry to disappoint. He's not nearly as right as you wish he could be."

Bruce shoved Danny back in his seat, a glare on his face. "That's enough. Let's get down to business."

The hard glare did not deter Danny's spontaneous attitude though. He quickly stood up, hand s in the air as he sung "To defeat… THE HUNS~!"

Bruce groaned, pressing another hand to his face as he did. Damian looked at Danny with a glare that mimicked his father's. His expression meant no nonsense while being slightly confused at the same time. "What do the Huns have to do with anything?"

Danny stopped cold, staring at the kid with wide-eyes. "You've never seen Mulan?!"

Not amused, Damian shook his head with a scowl.

"Oh Kid, you never had a childhood…"

"Please. We have work to do." Bruce said, a weary look already on his face. The red-banged boy loved to exhaust him it seemed.

"Come on, Bruce. We have a tragedy right here." Danny said, gesturing to the irked Damian. "This kid's never seen one of the few Disney movies where the parents didn't die within the first twenty minutes. Even better, they didn't die at all! Wait. I lied. Shane's father did. Still pretty good for Disney though."

Damian's eye twitched. "How could you be talking about a child's movie at a time like this?"

Bruce looked at his son, not at all phased by the going-ons around him while Danny began laughing hysterically, collapsing in his seat while hiding his teary eyes in his hand. "It's his specialty."

Damian slumped in his seat. "Idiot…"

"I thought you were interested in what I had to tell you." Bruce stated, looking over the laughing junior with irritated blue eyes. For once, he had thought Danny might actually keep his head in the game with the way he had reacted to the news of info he couldn't give over the video-call. He had hoped for just a little too much apparently.

Danny calmed, wiping the tears from his flushed face. His grin was that of a madman but that was typical for him. "I was! Still am too! But this kid you got here is too easy! Are you sure he's yours?"

"Stop calling me that. I am _not_ a child." Damian stated heatedly, not liking the way the older kept calling him the same, degrading name over and over again. He had mostly gotten used to the term, though it still irked him to no end, but he could not handle the name over and over again from a person who acted more like a child than he did.

Danny's grin, which seemed incapable of getting wider, broadened again as he stared at the boy with sparkling blue eyes. Damian didn't like the look. It was too close to one's he saw from Joker and other loonies.

"Age a few years and we'll see about that, _Kid_." Danny retorted, a smug smirk gracing his face.

Damian shrugged off his uneasiness, not happy with the insult. His glare at the older, insufferable boy intensified while Bruce prayed none of his tables would be flipped that day. "I've watched videos of you."

"So I've got a stalker now? _Fantastic_."

"Your hand to hand combat is weak. You rely heavily on your powers and your tech. If I wanted to, I could beat you right now if I wanted to." Damian said, ignoring the comment that had interrupted his own sentence. That kind of thing irritated him too.

"Damian-"

"No Bruce, he's right. He could beat me." Danny said, making himself comfortable in his seat while he did. The other two glanced at each other, uneasy. "But he won't."

"And why wouldn't I?" Damian questioned, not liking the calm and casual way the other held himself.

Danny smirked his smug smirk, a pleased spark in his eye. "Because the ID of the Bat's newest bird pays big bucks on the Dark-Net. Who am I kidding? It pays well anywhere in the criminal underworld."

Bruce glared heatedly while Damian seemed a little shocked at the concept of a hero (or what everyone _called_ a hero) ratting out another hero's secret identity so casually. Heck, he was surprised that he would rat it out to the highest bidder! What kind of decent person did that kind of thing?

Oh right… Danny wasn't a decent person.

"You wouldn't." Bruce seethed.

Danny turned his little smirk to his supervisor, head propped on his fist. There was a minute where he didn't say anything before he finally decided to open his black-portal mouth. "I'm messing with you."

"He's lying." Damian instantly accused, knowing his pause had meant otherwise to what he said.

Bruce sighed, turning to his newest child. "For once, he's not. Danny likes to manipulate people, mess with their heads. I haven't come across one person whom he hasn't done it to."

"And Daddy's always right~." Danny sung, batting his eye as he bobbed his leg up and down on his knee.

Damian's glare deepened, not liking the sound of a person who could easily play with his emotions like that. Most people didn't even make an impression on him but here was this nineteen-year-old with red bangs, wearing the most atrocious attire, and possessing the most irritating attitude in the world and he could play Damian like a piano. No doubt the older also knew how to twist words to what he wanted them to mean and dance around subjects he would rather not talk about.

Danny could be a smooth talker when he wanted to be.

"Now, before we start going over this, why is he here? I thought we were keeping everyone out of this for the time being." Danny asked, gesturing to the ten-year-old sitting across from him to the Dark Knight. His blue orbs were not amused with thought of a child sitting in on his and the adult's conversation.

Bruce sighed. "He hacked my files again."

Danny couldn't help the smirk that overcame his lips. Damian was equally pleased with the statement and the reaction the nineteen-year-old had to his accomplishment.

"Even though I find this situation _hilarious_," Danny started, mirth sparking through his eyes like a firecracker. "I still think he should go somewhere else and let the adults talk."

"You would think so, you prick." Damian said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Danny's smile broadened, though the smile was laced with irritation. "Hey, why don't you do the world a favor and go play in traffic?"

"Danny, he's staying. Calm down." Bruce stated seriously, giving the older of the two boys a glare while Damian mimicked his expression easily.

The red-banged male shrugged. "Nah. I'd rather panic."

"Please. Let's just get started already."

"Speak away, Oh Great One."

Bruce sighed in irritation again, rubbing his temple. Damian's glare had not lessened against Danny, arms crossed over his chest defensively.

Danny's amusement was tangible as he waved cheekily at them.

* * *

Watching his underlings with hardly any interest, the black-clad figure drummed his fingers against the arm of a chair. His blue-grey eyes flickered behind his mask, looking back and forth between each of the fighters dancing back and forth. The master of the group was not at all impressed with the way they moved. No one was being challenged.

And almost all of them were human… Pity. All the metas tended to work on their own or with their small cliques. They were willing to leave their groups if you paid them enough but he did not quite have a way to provide it to them without being too suspicious to the people he was close with. It'd be a shame if anyone found out what he had been doing all these years when he was barely getting started.

He had yet to choose a second in command. Even though all of the candidates in front of him were Crimson Cloaks, he was not all that impressed. He needed to find someone whom was not among his group yet, someone who stuck out from the crowd but knew how to be a part of the crowd at the same time.

Now… To find the one who would be his Shadow Cloak would be a painstaking task but it would be worth it.

* * *

Danny flipped through the file he held in his hand, reading through the Dark Knight's master plan. It was extremely intricate but, at the same time, all so simple. Others world be informed of it before it was taken place but only few would really understand what was going on. It was going to be one heck of a show he was going to have to put on too.

The part was all him. He could play it out beautifully. He was the only one who really could. Danny would never hold back with such a role, unlike some heroes.

"Interesting plan." Danny commented, lifting his eyes off the paper to stare at the Dark Knight curiously.

Bruce nodded once, in a sign that he heard the red-banged teen. "It's very fragile. Some of the smallest miscalculation could end the entire thing."

"I'm aware." Danny said, shutting the file and placing it back on the table.

"Can you keep the part and the plan going at the same time? I can always get someone else to do it." Bruce suggested, not sure if he should send the boy in front of him in.

Damian hmphed. "It probably would be best if you did so."

Bruce shot his son a glare, telling him to keep his mouth shut. Damian rolled his eyes, arms crossing back over his chest as he stared at something interesting in the sky.

"I'm the only one that can fake that kind of thing that long." Danny simply said, shrugging. "I'll do it. The acting is going to be easy. Keeping the plan on track shouldn't be difficult either. It's just the timing. Do things too soon, you screw up. Do things too late, you screw up. But I'm in touch with this kind of thing. I'll know when to set the ball rolling."

"That's why I called you first." Bruce stated.

Danny saluted in understanding. "I'm on it, Chief. Just tell me when I need to start infiltrating things and we'll be all set to go."

Bruce nodded. "As soon as possible would be good."

"Alright. I can get it done when I get home. Anything else I should know about and when can I tell my friends the info?" Danny asked.

The Dark Knight shook his head as he stood, the other two ebony-haired boys following his lead. "There's nothing more I need to tell you and you can tell them when you feel it would be right."

Danny smiled reassuringly. "Alright. I'll keep that in mind." Danny sighed contently. "Nothing says fun like getting permission to skip school and backstabbing people. Ah, good times."

"Well aren't you sweet as sugar?" Damian said sarcastically, shaking his head at the older male with a look of complete and utter disdain.

"Don't call me that. The last time someone did, I bashed their head in with a pipe." Danny said, a dark smirk appearing on his face.

Bruce was not surprised by the statement, knowing how violent the red-banged male could get if he was up for the challenge or agitated enough. Damian, however, didn't think the older boy had it in him to do such a thing.

"And when did this happen?" Damian asked, a snarky edge to his voice.

Danny shrugged. "I was ten or eleven, living on the streets. It wasn't hard because the douche was jacked up on dope."

"Enough of your wonderful childhood memories," Bruce said, still really not all that surprised by what fell from the younger's lips. "you have things you got to get ready to do."

Danny nodded. "Don't worry Bats, I got this."

"So you keep telling me…"

* * *

**Did ya'll think the plan would be revealed this update? *gasps* You did? What would give you that impression? *evil grin***

**Yes, I added Damian! I'm fully aware I made no mention of him earlier! This was a random decision! If the others will show up too is a totally undecided decision so I'll see if I need them later. *thumbs up* And I hinted at Jason's and Danny's future meeting in Fancy Meeting You... XD**

**One last note: Don't bother telling me your guesses on who the wonderful villain is. I'm not going to answer you, whether you are right or not. Fair warning if I ignore part of your review. *another thumbs up***

**Warning: If I don't get another update out till next week, it's because I was busy with visiting grandparents, my older bro's graduation, and being plain busy in general.**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following: ****_Namir the Tiger, GrayAngel564, DC-Hannah Falls._**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following me: _Kuro-okami13._**

**Reviews:**

**SomeItalian: I don't know what an ARC Reactor is (probably do, just can't think of it right now) but maybe. That's completely off from the main plot.**

**PHOENIX1020: *salutes* Anytime.**

**Guest of Honor: Danny's Danny. He has to tick off the Bat. XD No but something tells me she'll be alright with all the support she's getting.**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: But did I mention Damian's gonna make an appearance? No. Oops. XD I love that word too.**

**Poohbearmorris: It should be! :D**

**Scheffelman: Whatever flavor you want. It wasn't really pertinent to the plot. :)**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: Aw, thanks! And glad you thought it was hilarious! I though so too... XD As for your question, possibly. We'll see if he goes to school again in this fiction. XD**

**Roselin: Mm, no but you can make it that way. XD**

**Expergiscimini: I wasn't! Chill, Girlie! I got all of this covered! XD**

**KainVixenheim: Can't help you. I'm, technically, just words on a screen at this point.**

**Ninuhuju: ...*bursts into laughter* Or, you know, not. XD I had this chapter written before you reviewed so I'm not intentionally trolling you! I swear!**

**Bibbledoo: He's Danny. What did you expect? XD Say 'hi' to Peridot for me~!**

**Phantom Heir Daughter of Zeus: As far as we know, he did not do that. XD**

**16ckelman: Nah, you should still fear the wrath of the Bat, no matter how dead you are already. XD**


	6. Attention

Ch.6: Attention

_Thump._

Danny winced at the small sound he made. In the dead of night in an abandoned building, even small sounds such as his feet landing lightly on a catwalk got turned into the loudest sounds in the universe. He was sure Superman could hear him all the way on the other side of the country. That would be bad because no heroes should know of him showing up at this location.

Or, at least, he hoped none of them showed up. Heroes always went just a little too easy on him because of his job. It was really starting to peeve him off and he wished that his heists were getting the attention he wanted.

Standing up carefully from his crouch, Danny looked around the warehouse for the piece of equipment he was currently in the process of stealing. Behind the white lenses of his black, snarling wolf mask, Danny's peridot-green eyes were thin slits as he looked around. Not finding the door he was looking for, he pressed a button on the side of his ear-piece, newly connected to his mask lenses, and watched as the blue-prints came up.

* * *

_Danny looked around the room at all the Leaguers staring at his supervisor. Some were casting him weary glances, seeing as he still had villain-like tendencies that he never tried to subdue._

_ The boy didn't laugh the looks off though, like he usually did. His hands were planted firmly on his hips, standing behind the Dark Knight with serious eyes. The white bangs hanging in his eyes didn't seem to bother him, which only made him look more intimidating in some curious way. Lips pressed into a thin line, Danny waited for the news to escape the Caped Crusader's lips._

_ "I'm sure you all have heard of the new group of felons sprouting around the country. The media has dubbed them the 'Cloaks'." Batman started. His voice was enough to get the computer behind him to bring up a picture of a group of people in various colored cloaks robbing a bank._

_ Recognition sparked in the eyes' of the Leaguers. They nodded at their mostly silent leader, perking immeasurably at what he had to say about the new group of felons._

_ "I've done some extensive digging on them." Batman continued, not surprising his comrades at all. "They're more than they seem."_

* * *

With the blueprints guiding him, Danny silently glided across the catwalk. The steel platform under his feet didn't move or rattle when he stepped on them, staying as quiet as if no one were on it. The white haired teen glided up to the ladder leading down.

Instead of taking the normal route, Danny merely jumped off the side, fell a couple dozen feet, and landed like a cat on the ground. The small _thump_ that emitted from under his feet made him wince again.

How he would love to know how Batman was silent when he did things like this…

Carefully tiptoeing his way to the back, Danny followed the directions his lenses were telling him. The teen weaved in and out of machinery, boxes, and crates. His black, steel-toed boots were placed carefully on the ground with each step, though he was going at a reasonable speed for a newbie at the whole stealth thing.

Danny was used to faking his way through things: parties, clubs, business meetings, and all sorts of other occasions. Using stealth was a big change from conning his way into a building to get what he wanted or to the person he was trying to subdue.

It was weird being quiet since his entrances were always loud, which was like his own version of stealth. No one paid attention to the guy with the big head because it just wasn't worth it.

* * *

_"Really? I mean… All they've done so far is rob a few banks, a couple of big businesses like Wayne Enterprises, and labs. They've never even killed anyone." Superman said, a look of doubt on his face. He also seemed to be apprehensive; he probably doubted his own doubt for the Dark Knight._

_ Danny suppressed a smirk at the Man of Steel's statement while Batman visibly scowled._

_ So _that's_ why he decided to dig as far as he did…_

_ Scowl still planted on his face, Batman replied "I'm sure. They're an underground organization run by a man only known as King. King is very thorough in his work, hiding all forms of funding and recruiting from electronics. How he's doing it is unclear."_

_ "I even went and tried to find his little clan via Dark-Net." Danny added, hands still on his hips. "They're not users, or active ones at the very least. Couldn't find them."_

_ Batman nodded. "Which is why I want to someone inside."_

_ "Let me guess…" Flash started, dryly casting a look at the stoic Ghost Boy. "He's the one going in?"_

_ This time, Danny did let a smirk slip over his lips at the others almost irritated looks._

_ "Like always." Batman said. Even though his voice was completely emotionless, the League could almost swear he sounded smug._

* * *

Silently stalking up to one of the walls, Danny glided his gloved hand over the various steel panels that made up the wall. His fingers were loose in their sockets but putting pressure against the steel at the same time. He slowly walked along the wall, patiently trying to find where the door was while still trying to be quiet as ever.

Something gave way under his fingers. Danny almost passed over it because the collapse wasn't huge. It was barely a sixteenth of an inch in the wall, almost invisible lines around the edges.

Under his mask, Danny was smirking.

Pressing further into the wall, the panel fell farther in. A larger, door-sized panel began falling in with it, barely making any sound as it did.

Danny pushed the door aside, making enough room for him but no more. He slipped through the space, barely, and quietly closed the door behind him. Danny pushed the panels back into their original place, listening to the small, almost inaudible _click_ as it relocked behind him.

Turning around, the teen was met with a long hallway leading down to a lowly lit chamber at the end. And if the shadows dancing across the walls were anything to go by, there were either secret security guards on duty that did not show up on the usual schedule or the people Danny was trying to get the attention of were down there.

Just in case of either, Danny slowly pulled his AA-12 from his back, pointing it at the ground and flipping the safety off.

* * *

_"Now, before anyone objects to my choice, there are many reasons why I chose him." Batman informed, not noticing how Danny had taken to leaning against one of the tables with his arms crossed over his chest behind him._

_ "One of them is his way to fake through anything, right?" Superman asked expectantly._

_ Batman nodded. "That and his knowledge of the criminal underworld, his many identities that will allow him to stay on our side while infiltrating, and the simple fact that if any of you get in a fight with him somehow, you'll be sure to give him a run for his money."_

_ Some of the League actually smiled at that. Beating up the little pain in the butt was a pleasant thought, especially since they would otherwise not be able to touch him because of his knowledge on how to ruin their lives with little effort._

_ "Just remember that I won't go easy on you either." Danny stated, smiling big and wide at them. "But then again, when do I ever?"_

* * *

Carefully putting one foot in front of the other, Danny tiptoed down the hall slowly and quietly. His ears strained for sounds but he only heard barely audible whispers he couldn't make out. With his green eyes gleaming behind his wolf mask, Danny tried to calm his breathing because he realized how excited he was getting. His heart pounded in his chest; he was sure the unknown figures at the end of the hall could hear it.

The white haired boy was surprised he hadn't been spotted yet. It wasn't like he was up against one of the walls or anything. He was out in plain sight. The others were just so caught up in what they were doing, they didn't notice him approaching them slowly.

Standing in the frame of the entryway, Danny looked in with his mask shadowed by his hood. His form looked dark and menacing, the snarl on the mask seeming almost real. His AA-12 was pressed to his hip again, hiding against the black of his trousers so he could surprise the other figures in the room. The white lenses of his mask were glinting in the low lighting of the room.

In the chamber, a small group of people were trying to get the device Danny was after out of a case. In the typical, cliché, gotta-be-on-display-while-being-hidden way, the device was floating in the center of a tube, giving off a small, blue light as it floated in the center.

Four figures wearing green cloaks overtop black, assassin outfits were trying to break into the case the old fashioned way by breaking it. Two others, one wearing a blue cloak and the other a red, were playing around the controls and trying to get it out using their computer smarts. However, they did not possess the right computer smarts to get into the system without potentially setting off an alarm.

If he was wearing a cloak of some kind, the green-eyed nineteen-year-old knew he would fit right in with those losers.

Danny lifted his hand holding his semi-automatic shotgun and rested the gun against his shoulder, placing his free hand on his hip. He relaxed his posture and made a cute smirk behind his mask, though he did it knowing no one else could see it.

"Well, glad to see I'm not the only one interested in that pretty little thing. Who are you guys again? I thought I heard the press call you the Cloaks? Pretty lame name if you ask me."

* * *

_"So you gonna tell them the actual plan or what, Batsy?" Danny asked his supervisor, flipping his bangs out of his eyes. A teasing smirk was gracing his lips as he waited for more adult talk._

_ Batman suppressed rolling his eyes. "Well, why don't you tell them, Oh Great One?"_

_ Danny grinned while the League laughed under their breath at the sarcastic tone Batman used on the nineteen-year-old. Danny was one of the few people who could get him to do something like that as easily as he did._

_ Still leaning against the desk, Danny grinned at the League. "Now, since the Cloaks have a Chuck Norris approach to recruitment-"_

_ "A Chuck Norris approach?" Hawkgirl asked, a dry look upon her face._

_ "You know, 'you don't find them, they found you' kind of thing?" Danny asked, rolling his eyes. Understanding flowed through the crowd. "Anyways, since they've got that kind of idea going on, I'm going to have to impress King. Which shouldn't be too hard because I'm me but whatever…"_

_ Most of the League rolled their eyes at the pompous nineteen-year-old._

_ "As Phantom, Danny's going to start organized heists again." Batman informed, gaining the full attention of everyone. "It might take a few tries but if he plays his cards right, he should be inside as a lackey in just a few tries. He might trip an alarm few of those times. If he does, one of us is going to have to respond. We'll need to keep our words and actions in check. We don't want to accidently give away the plan."_

_ "What about after he's in been admitted as one of the Cloaks?" Wonder Woman asked._

_ "I'll do a few heists with them, to seem like I'm actually part of the group so I can dig up their secrets. When I have all that I need, I'll trip an alarm and whichever hero needs to show up." Danny explained, looking over the group. "We'll do the villain-hero thing and one of you is going to have to trail me via GPS thing I'll transfer to your phone after I find out where they're located. This is going to be a piece of cake mission."_

* * *

The six bodies quickly turned to where Danny was standing, aiming their own weapons at him. The red-cloaked figure's hands erupted with icy-blue ice, pointing it threateningly at the new player in the chamber.

"Now, now." Danny soothed, tilting his head to the side. He noticed how all his opponents wore plain, black masks as well. Dang, were he and his friends the only ones that made them personal these days? "No need to be like that. Why don't I help you out a little bit? See, I'm Phantom. You may have heard of me. I run the Dark-Net. Decided it was time to get back in the field, if you know what I mean."

The obvious leader, the one with ice blasts ready in his hands, glared at him behind his mask. "Last I heard, you don't help others. You lead them on before you throw them out like garbage."

Oh wait, that wasn't a guy. That was a girl. _Whoops_.

"Can't my heart change for the better?" Danny asked teasingly, taking his free hand from his hand and placing it over his chest mockingly. His AA-12 glinted dangerously with a blue hue from the case.

"Anybody else? Yes. You, however? No." The crimson-cloaked female said, hands twitching to take him out with her blue blasts waiting in the palms of her hands. They seemed to almost be like flames made of ice and frost.

Danny faked a gasp. "Ah, now that just hurts. Wait a minute… No it doesn't. Who am I kidding? I'm a heartless scumbag no one wants in their life, lest I should drag them down to hell with me. You guys wanna hop on my bus to Hades?"

The masked female barked a sarcastic laugh. "Not on your life."

Danny smirked behind his mask. "Well, it's a good thing it's not on my life now then, huh?"

Quick as Flash, Danny was shooting his shotgun around the room, making the poor saps duck to the ground in a quick escape. The six figures threw themselves behind control panels and other equipment lying around the room. Danny ravaged everything to the ground without a second thought. It wasn't his property. He felt no despair over the loss of the electronics.

Though he was not planning on killing anyone, he was pretty sure he could warp his story into that of self-defense if he did. He would _try_ and warp his story like that anyways, if he did end up killing one of the Cloaks.

Danny ducked under another console not preoccupied by one of the Cloaks presences. Smirking, he turned invisible and stood back up, watching as the Cloaks tried to find where he was hiding so they could take him out. Silently gliding around the room, Danny found one of the green-cloaked figures peeking out from his hiding place.

The nineteen-year-old shot him in the leg.

* * *

_"How many heists is he going to have to do?" Superman asked, looking at the smirking teen uneasily._

_ "However many it takes." Batman answered, a dull note to his voice like Superman should have known the answer to begin with. "We need someone in the Cloaks headquarters, finding out their secrets, and tracking down who King is."_

_ Superman put his hands up. "Sorry if it seems like I'm doubting. Danny still has the tendency to strike most of us as the world domination type."_

_ A chorus of agreements went through the crowd. Batman rolled his eyes behind his cowl but didn't disagree._

_ Danny shrugged it off, a smug smile still plastered across his face. "No worries. Totally understand. Just know that I think world domination plans are worthless."_

_ Flash raised an eyebrow. "Really?"_

_ "Yeah." Danny said, eyes sparkling humorously. "I mean, come on guys. You'd never get that far because of rebellions. And if you did somehow get that far, you'd still have to face constant rebellions. And if you somehow manage to suppress all the rebellions for good, which is pretty much impossible, it's like you beat a game. Once you beat the boss, there's no more plot to continue the game so you kind of run around like a headless chicken all day. So world domination will only lead to the Armageddon you caused because you have nothing better to do with your time or you commit suicide because you fell into depression because your life has no more meaning and you decided to end it, passing on the burden to your successor and restarting the whole process."_

_ …_

_ "Why would you think it _that_ thoroughly?" Batman questioned, a dry look at his face while the rest of the League stared at the male with astonished eyes._

_ Danny shrugged. "I had time. And I was bored."_

_ Batman suppressed a face-palm._

_ Getting up from his spot, Danny walked over to stand beside his supervisor, wearing a devious smile. "Alright, now that we got that taken care of, who's ready for the show to begin?"_

* * *

A loud cry of pain went out from green-cloaked figure, blood splattering out from the gaping wound. Their hand grappled to put pressure on it while his or her comrades tried to find their assailant with little to no success.

Danny practically danced around the room, taking out each of the Cloaks legs. Screams were tossed into the air and blood began leaking all over the floor. The crimson-cloaked figure was yelling into her com for backup, leaning against a panel full or buttons heavily, pressing most of them and triggering an alarm.

The white-haired male reappeared in the middle of the room, standing in the same way as he did when they first saw him with his shotgun against his shoulder and his free hand on his hip. The Cloaks could practically feel the smirk he wore and the confidence he gave off for taking down the group with little problem in such short time.

"Now, I'm going to take the device behind me and I'm going to sell it for a pretty penny on the Dark-Net. If your head leader, if you have one that is, is upset with you all, console him with the words that Phantom just doesn't take crap from people like you and that I could've shot you all in the head." Danny mockingly soothed, putting his AA-12 back in its holster on his back. Turning around on his heel, he gave a small cackle just to tick off the others.

Once his back was turned, Danny could feel the others' various guns trained on his back. He could faintly hear the crimson-cloaked girl's hands light up with her icy blasts again.

As everyone started firing, Danny turned intangible and watched as they passed through his body. A smirk adorned his face as he heard them gasp and wondered why their boss was sending out newbies like that. Sure, they had made it into the building without getting caught but what if they met someone along the way? They were going to get killed by a couple of cops with their skill.

For once, Danny silently thanked Batman for forcing him to train for all these kinds of scenarios, even though he didn't have them all perfected yet.

Keeping his intangibility tingling through his body, Danny reached through the tube and wrapped his translucent hand around the device. It took a minute but the piece of machinery finally reacted to his powers, turning intangible and slipping into his hand easily.

After pulling the electronic out of the tube, Danny let his body become solid again. He turned back around to face the Cloaks again, staring at him in horror at his powers.

The blue-cloaked figure pointed their gun at him again unsteadily.

Danny smirked again, feeling inky blackness enter his eyes for the first time in a long time.

A snarling cougar with three heads appeared in front of the blue-cloaked figure, wailing and growling menacingly.

The blue-cloaked person screamed, jumping back from the nightmare as far as they could. The red-cloaked figure tried to figure out what was wrong with her second-in-command while the cougar continued to snap its jaws at the scared Cloak.

Distantly, Danny heard cops zooming towards their locations, sirens wailing in the night. "Well, I'm just going to take my leave now. Hope you all can figure out how to get out of here without getting caught and that your friend doesn't go completely insane. Buh-Bye~."

As he was casually jogging into the hallway, an icy blast caught his legs in ice, even though the red-cloaked girl knew she couldn't keep Danny in the chamber no matter how much she wanted.

Glaring over his shoulder, Danny phased out of the ice and blasted the floor near the girl with his own green firepower in warning. "Try that again, Princess. Next time, I won't be scorching the floor."

Turning back around, Danny ran down the hallway. He quickly reopened the door, slipping out and closing the door behind him again. He put it back into place before quickly running to the ladder to the catwalk. Danny quickly flew up and out of the building, just as the cops arrived with Green Arrow and Black Canary. He paid them no mind, his prize in his hand.

Danny found a spot to hide and watch on the rooftop next door. Watching behind his wolf mask, the nineteen-year-old saw the cops enter through all the entrances. They scoured the building for the intruders, though the one they needed to catch was already gone.

As the cops entered, Danny caught sight of the group of six barely managing to limp out of the stairwell to the roof. A helicopter came in, their backup probably. The sight of the chopper got the attention of the cops and they began shooting. Watching closely, Danny managed to see that all six of them climbed the ladder and made it into the helicopter before it flew off.

Danny hummed to himself, interested in the transportation, before he ignored his mind's suggestion at stealing one from an airbase. Reaching up, the white haired teen pressed his com. "Batsy, you there?"

"_I'm here. How'd it go?_" Batman's voice said in his ear, almost comfortingly.

"Fine. Got the device, if you want it back. I don't even know what it does so it's probably useless to me anyways." Danny answered, looking at the piece of machinery with little interest.

"_Head on over to Gotham again to return it. Do you think you got the King's attention this time?_"

Danny hummed reassuringly, though he thought about how this was his sixth heist and still nothing. "Oh, I think he'll be very interested in me when his little lackeys get back to base in need of medical attention."

"…_did you kill any?_"

"No. Just shot them all in the leg and scared one half to death. Nothing too bad. Promise. I don't plan on going down that road again."

"_Good._"

Danny nodded to the air around him. "Is that all, Batsy?"

"_One more question._"

"Hit me."

"_Did you run into GA?_"

Danny smirked. "Nope. Fool didn't show up until after I was out of the building. Why? Did you want me to beat him up or shoot him or something?"

"_I was hoping. Though I'll just get you two to spar later this week or something along those lines._"

Danny smiled bigger. "Ah, what'd he do to mock you this time?"

"_Showed up on a Gotham case because he was attending a charity event. Scumbag knows how much that irritates me_."

"I'm surprised you didn't do something to him."

"_No, I did. I just need extra blackmail._"

"…what'd you do?"

"_Tied him to a pole with one of my grapples._"

Danny wasn't sure how the cops didn't hear him laughing hysterically on the rooftop after hearing that answer.

* * *

**It only took two chapters but I finally let you guys know what the plan was and managed to get one more update before my grandparents visit! XD Oh, and the OCs aren't going to have any big parts. Just letting you know that now.**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting and/or following: _BrownHair2918, Insense, Pegasus Sword Master._**

**Reviews:**

**Eirena Gaia: XD Glad to see you're following! I made this for you and a couple others mainly. And thanks! Yeah, Dami can be excluded in some stuff sometimes. Woo plans~!**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Damian and Danny are both brats. They just have different ways of showing it. XD**

**KT: Really? SWEET! :D Hope I brightened your day again!**

**SomeItalian: We'll see about the other Bat-Kids. I'm unsure if they're going to be needed or not.**

**Expergiscimini: I know~! Thank you for realizing my evilness~! XD Those two will bring the end of the world.**

**KainVixenheim: That sucks. Hope you get better. Glad you're enjoying!**

**Guest of Honor: Well, when you're raised by assassins and it's only been a couple of months since you've been taken in by Daddy, you never really get to see Mulan. XD**

**Roselin: Gotta love our bratty boys! XD**

**BrownHair2918: We'll see.**

**Poohbearmorris: XD Dami's not actually part of the master plan but we will most likely see him later. Oh, they do? I couldn't tell. XD**

**16ckelman: I know. And Dami's trying to act tough. Like usual. Not a surprise. XD**

**Oblitus Angeli: Ha, no, I don't think I'll give you any Son of Batman spoilers. No worries. XD Suicide Squad, huh? I thought he had to be at Blackgate for that. XD**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: XD HA! His new hobby! Oh so definitely.**

**Pegasus Sword Master: Oh,_ yes_. No one will. XD**


	7. Catching Your Interest

Ch.7: Catching Your Interest

King drummed his fingers against the arm of his throne. Behind his painted mask, a scowl was on his face and his form radiated irritation and anger. His form was rigid in his seat, sitting tall to make his lackeys seem smaller than they already were. Blue-grey eyes stared through the eye-holes of his mask, glaring down at his Beta Team, everyone wearing casts and gauze around their legs.

The four Jade Cloaks, the Sapphire Cloak, and the Crimson Cloak kept their eyes adverted from their master. With their masks off, it was harder to approach him than it already was. At least with their blank masks, they could hide their terrified facial expressions.

"You're telling me that _one insolent boy_ managed to injure _all of you_ and _TAKE OUR PRIZE_?!" King yelled at the Crimson Cloak, one of his metas too. What was her name again? Crispin? Not that he cared at the moment; he was thinking of many different, unpleasant names for the girl.

The Crimson Cloak nodded, her azure eyes wide and jaw clenched uneasily. Her arms were pressed close to her body, hands behind her back. Her left leg, the one in the cast, was bent to take most of the weight off it while the other was perfectly straight. She tried to make herself look taller and less terrified but, in actuality, she was shaking.

"There were six of you! How on earth did he manage to get all of you?!" King yelled, quickly standing up from his throne to better get his point across at the mortified lackeys. His white cloak fell around him ominously.

Behind her back, the Crimson Cloak's hands wrung the other nervously. "Well, you see Sir-"

"I _don't_ see, Crimson!"

"It was Phantom, Sir! The Dark-Net's creator!" The Crimson Cloak explained, trying to get her point across.

King waved it off. "We aren't part of the Dark Net, Crimson. Do you think I find interest in a petty felon that's just good with computers and nothing more?"

"That's the thing, Sir." The Crimson Cloak continued. "He's high on the underworld crime ladder. He's almost as high as some of the highest villains in the world, like the Joker and Lex Luthor. He's terrifying and no one knows what he really looks like. Phantom takes jobs of all sorts and steals whatever he pleases. He's really good…" She said meekly.

King narrowed his eyes at her. His blue-grey eyes watched as the Sapphire Cloak stepped up beside his group leader, stuttering "H-He m-made me see a m-monster…"

"A monster?" King questioned dryly. His agitation was clear.

The Sapphire Cloak nodded quickly before taking a step back again, leaving the Crimson Cloak to continue the conversation without him.

King paced the length of the platform his throne was on, propping him above his henchmen. Thoughts ran through his mind, quickly turning his irritation into curiosity. His form loosened as his thoughts calmed him down, lulling him gently.

Nervously, the Beta Team watched him pace nervously, eyes following his person with every step he took.

King stopped in front of his throne again, turning back to the front to face his lackeys. Slowly, he sat back into his seat. He crossed his ankle over his knee, looking at the forms under him curiously. "Tell me more about this Phantom character."

* * *

Danny walked into the Bat-Cave, twirling the device he had lifted off of LexCorp around in his finger. The nineteen-year-old whistled contently as he casually sauntered in, alerting the Dark Knight of his presence with the notes coming from his mouth. The bats clinging to the ceiling stirred at his high-pitched whistling, screeching a bit to accompany his tune.

Batman was sitting at his computer, like usual. He was leaning forward, staring at the large screen with a casual intensity. Danny didn't know such a thing existed and wasn't surprised the Dark Knight could do it so easily.

"Yello~!" Danny greeted brightly, jumping onto the console and crossing his legs cutely while he opened his arms wide, as if he just finished some complicated routine. At the end of fingers in his left hand, the device dangled in front of Batman's face while he leaned back in his seat.

"Hi Danny."

"I brought you a present~." Danny sung, setting the LexCorp property on the desk in front of his supervisor while smiling cheekily.

Batman nodded in acknowledgement, picking up the piece of equipment, looking it over, and smirking. "I think Luthor's going to have to postpone that press conference he set up for the unveiling of this thing."

Danny cackled, very proud of himself for continually making the Baldie's life hell. "What's it do anyways?"

"Supposedly, it's a ray gun that weakens the powers of Metas. He was going to sell it to places like Arkham, Blackgate, and Belle Rev to help keep prisoners in line. He was also going to sell it to the government for escaped Meta criminals." Batman explained, opening a panel to begin playing with the device's insides.

Danny snorted. "Another destroy-Superman weapon disguised as something good plan?"

"Basically, yes."

"He's _so predictable_." Danny groaned, pressing his hands over his face.

"I know." Batman assured, clamping the boy's knee comfortingly. "You eventually get used to villain lunacy. Dealing with real madmen helps the transition."

"Is that an invitation to take down Joker sometime?" Danny asked, a smirk appearing on his face as he dropped his hands back onto the desk he was sitting on.

Batman shrugged. "It'd save me time and a lot of injuries. Plus, I want to see who's more annoying. You or him."

Unexpectedly, Danny jumped into Batman's lap, getting a loud swear word and making the Dark Knight jump. "Hey, Batsy likes me enough to let me beat up his villains! Yeah~! I'm so special~!"

Batman turned his chair around and shoved Danny off of his lap, mumbling more swear words under his breath as he turned back around to his desk. He bereted himself for saying anything while Danny's mirth stirred the bats above them. The junior was ignoring the faint pains in his back and head for the aching in his ribs and stomach, courtesy of his giggle fit.

The two didn't hear the entrance to the Cave open over the white haired teen's laughter. Batman perked when a higher-pitched voice called "Father! I'm ready for patrol. … Is Grayson down there with you?"

Danny tried to say something but his witch-cackling took his breath away, literally.

Damian, in his Robin getup, walked down the stairs and looked over the Cave. His masked blue eyes caught Batman staring at him, rubbing his temple, and the visitor rolling on the floor. "Oh, it's just the imbecile. What's ludicrous thing is he laughing about this time?"

Danny pressed one hand to his eyes while the other pointed at Batman, still rubbing his temples.

Robin raised an eyebrow.

"It's easier not to ask." Batman simply said, standing up and stepping over Danny. The green-eyed teen reached out and grabbed his ankle, laughing as he was dragged along for the ride. Batman stopped when he felt the tug on his ankle, sighing and glaring down at the male. "Really?"

Robin walked over, standing beside his father and crossing his arms over his chest. "Let go of him. We've got work to do."

"Robin, just let it go. This isn't unusual for him."

"We have _patrol_."

Danny held up his hand in a 'one-minute' gesture while he tried to calm himself. It seemed someone had slipped him some Joker-Venom because his giggles did not want to stop.

Eager to begin running across rooftops in one of the scariest cities in the world, Robin stomped on the wrist connected to the hand holding Batman captive. A yelp of pain immediately met his ears, satisfying the child while the Dark Knight yelled at him in shock.

Glaring up at the ten-year-old and holding his wrist, Danny yelled "You little brat!" The nineteen-year-old grabbed the child's ankle and yanked, sending the smaller boy sprawling on the ground. Smirking, Danny watched Robin quickly sit up, glaring and growling at the older boy. Before he could tackle Danny and start an all-out war with the older male that would surely devastate Gotham, Batman grabbed Robin's arm and roughly pulled him back. "Damian, enough! You should've have kicked him!"

"HA!"

"You shouldn't have retaliated!" Batman yelled at the victorious junior.

Danny glared. "Are you kidding me? You should've seen that coming! I always retaliate!"

Sighing irritably, Batman pulled Damian off the ground before pulling Danny up. Looking at the older of the two, the Dark Knight said "Good job on tonight."

"Never thought he would compliment my stealing skills."

"Remember you _imbecile_, it's for the greater good."

"I don't see you working for the greater good, little Unholy One! You're trying to get me to start World War III with you!"

"Shut up, both of you! Or I bring Alfred into this!" Batman yelled, glaring at the two and quickly getting them to shut up instantly. Refocusing on the oldest, Batman said "Find another place to hit tonight and you can do it tomorrow night, alright? You still have to go to school."

Danny grumbled under his breath. "Alright…"

Batman nodded before turning to his youngest. "Stop calling him names and physically attacking him. Yes, he's irritating as crap but violence only makes him stride to be more annoying than he already is."

Robin grumbled as well and nodded, huffing.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Batman nodded to the two and gestured for Danny to go. "Go home. Find your target then get some rest. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Danny nodded, taking a couple of steps back before pressing the com in his ear, requesting to be taken up to the Watchtower so he could go home. Before he was teleported, he stuck his tongue out childishly at the younger boy. Robin didn't have time to get his own childish revenge before the older boy was gone in a flash of light.

Grumbling, Robin allowed himself to be led to the Batmobile while he sulked. Batman patted his shoulder comfortingly and said "You won't have to deal with him often. That's my job."

"He's such a _pain_!"

"I'm aware, Damian. Just be grateful you'll only see him every once in awhile at best. The most he does in Gotham is visit his sister." Batman explained, watching as the top of the Batmobile opened up for the two of them. They jumped in; capes following behind them with a low _swoosh_.

Robin slumped in his seat, arms crossed over his chest with a scowl on his face. Batman looked at him briefly and said "Suck it up. You tried to crush his wrist. You should've known he was going to do something in return."

"I was expecting a blast in the face! Not being pulled to the floor!"

"How many times have I told you to expect the unexpected?"

* * *

Danny leaned back in his seat, sighing contently as he did. Reaching forward while propping his feet on his table, the teen pressed a sequence into his keyboard and watched as the words 'Calling: The Sexist Man Alive and The Kick-A$$ Best Friend' flashed across the screen. Danny smiled at the names humorously.

It took a few rings but both of the boy's friends answered in their own time, giving various greetings to each other.

"Whaz up?" Tucker asked, a stupid rapper-look on his face as he bobbed his head.

Sam made her own stupid-face and said "Sup Loser."

Danny barked a laugh. "I'm the loser now? Have you guys looked in the mirror when you guys do those faces at me?"

"No." Tucker answered, shaking his head. "And there is a reason for that. Many reasons actually. But the point you just made is the biggest."

Sam jerked her head to Tucker's screen. "What he said."

"Lovely." Danny commented, smiling. "Have you guys done anything of interest tonight?"

"Nah. Just got some of my new war-bots all wired up, cleaned a few of the famous people ones, and made upgrades to the original war-bot. Nothing really exciting though." Tucker said, shrugging.

Sam looked at the cocoa-skinned boy weirdly. "Why do you make new ones? What's wrong with the original?"

"Nothing. I just keep waiting for it to get destroyed. The rest are backups." Tucker answered, shrugging.

"Smart." Danny stated, nodding his head.

"Thank you for thinking so." Tucker responded sarcastically, nodding his head. "How 'bout you, Sam? Anything new with you?"

"Nope." The ebony-haired girl answered. "Just trained and got a visit from one of buddies from my Black Panther days."

"Which one?" Danny asked.

"Natalia."

"Oh, I hate that chick! She was such a prissy princess!" Danny yelled, letting his head fall back against the back of his chair and groaning as he thought of the girl.

Tucker laughed hysterically while Sam smirked. "And she still hates you, Danny. She called you a flaming ball of crap. The feeling is mutual."

"Good." Danny stated, slumping in his seat and grumbling to himself.

While Tucker calmed his laughing, he asked "So how'd your heist go, D?"

Releasing one last angry sigh at the thought of his old rival, Danny shrugged. "Fine. I ran into the Cloaks this time. Shot them all without any effort and scared one of them half to death. They were a bunch of wussies, if you ask me."

"Danny, you have ghost powers." Tucker stated, a dry expression gracing his face. "You had a huge advantage over them."

"So?"

Sam face-palmed. "He's so idiotic sometimes!"

"Shall we look back to the beginning of this conversation, fellow idiot?"

* * *

King hummed as he thought over all the things the Beta Team had told him; everything from Phantom's looks down to every rumor over the Dark-Net was given to him without a second thought. The various cloaked henchmen were waiting with baited breathes to find out what their master thought of the new player messing with his heists.

The fact he hadn't blown up at them throughout their recount was always a good sign.

King waved his hand around, nodding to the group. "Very good. Your name was Crispin wasn't it, Crimson Cloak?"

The azure-eyed girl nodded quickly, showing that her name was indeed Crispin. It was unusual for her master to call her by her name instead of her rank. She was only ever called her name by the other Crimson Cloaks and her second-in-command. Her lackeys always called her by her rank as well.

"Well Crispin, you and your group are off duty until you heal. Thank you for informing me of this individual you encountered tonight." King said, voice void of emotion as he shooed them away.

The Beta Team quickly bowed to their master, mumbling small 'thank yous', before retreating from the room as fast they could. Once out of the room, they split up and went to their separate rooms in their different corridors, mumbling 'good-nights' to the others before they separated for the night.

Lounging in his throne, King continued to mull over the interesting individual the Beta Team had run into that night: Phantom, creator of the Dark-Net.

The tech-savvy male hadn't been seen out in the field for a long while now; a little over a year, his lackeys had told him. Now, suddenly, he was jumping back into the field of thievery. He wasn't taking any jobs like he used to so the King knew he couldn't get in touch that way.

Not that he would want to see the male over a screen anyways. No, he wanted to meet this interesting character in person. All the hype the male had centered on himself was astounding. The King wanted to see if it was all it was cracked up to be for himself. He wouldn't want to waste him time with an insolent moron if everything turned out to be nothing more than stories.

And if the male was all he was cracked up to be… Maybe he could make him an ally. Better yet…

Maybe he'd finally have his Shadow Cloak by his side after all this time of searching.

King smiled to himself at finally having a person he could count on to keep the other Cloaks in line while he did more important things. A lieutenant was what he needed but no one had presented themselves the way this one male had.

A face-to-face meeting would be best, he thought.

* * *

**One more update complete before I go on vacation mode. YES! So proud of myself... :D But I would like to say intangibility and invisibility are seriously two of the most annoying powers to write with. It takes all the logic out of sneaking into buildings. I'm going to continue doing it anyways because it's fun.**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting and/or following: _KuriMaster13, Enchanting Elf, Ummmmmno530._**

**Reviews:**

**KainVixenheim: Of course Danny enjoys villain-hood, who wouldn't? XD Hope you get better.**

**Pegasus Sword Master: Obnoxious Danny forever! XD Nah, I replaced them with his nightmare thingy. And of course he would.**

**KuriMaster13: Haha! Depending on what part of the timeline you're talking about, Danny goes in and out of being an anti-hero, sort-of hero by srule-book tandards (some heroes get away with pretty weird stuff), and just downright villain. :)**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Always. XD No one messes with Gotham except Gothamites. You don't see Batman messing with your city. XD**

**Ninuhuju: Which is why he's working for it! :D**

**Dani: Danny's gonna be that way for a long time. XD **

**16ckelman: It took about six heists but he finally did it. XD**

**Roselin: Oh, you know it, dude. **

**IWasNeverReal: You liked that? A lot? Wow... I thought it was kinda lame. XD**

**Guest of Honor: I will do as the plot needs me to do. :)**

**Expergiscimini: Yup. He's special like that. XD And the chap was 'Just Like Old Times'.**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: No, they won't. XD Glad you enjoyed! You like ice-girl..? Interesting... XD**

**Poohbearmorris: It would've been an interesting sight to see. NO MORE TENNIS! And it's actually my grandparents visiting from Mass. :D**


	8. Face to Face

Ch.8: Face to Face

Danny smiled smugly at the LexCorp building across the street from him. Hands on his hips and shoulders relaxed, he was the epitome of confidence. His smirk had a hint of disdain lingering in it, thinking about the owner of the building. Green eyes glinted behind the white lenses of his mask.

The white haired nineteen-year-old still had time before the workers fully closed the building down. When that time came, everyone would leave and abandon it for their homes instead. It would be a hurried storm that came from the building's doors since everyone knew of the thief that took a liking to stealing from their boss. The thief had yet to be caught.

And Danny planned on keeping it that way.

The masked male had yet to come across the Cloaks again. He had twelve heists under his belt in three weeks and he had met them on his sixth. He didn't know if the Cloak's leader had even caught wind of him yet. Had his lackeys bothered to tell him about the creepy dude in a wolf mask that shot them all?

Danny didn't worry about it too much. Sure, it was frustrating he was still going along with the same routine. It'd be nice to have a change of pace but he had to stick with the plan. King would find him to be something to look at in a matter of time. He'd make sure of it.

Not knowing the building was being watched with peridot green eyes, the workers all began flooding from the doors and the lights from all the levels began turning off except for a few in the hallways. It took a good ten minutes for every last worker to leave, save for a few security guards getting paid to stay overnight to watch the sight's projects and keep a look out for the thief hitting all the LexCorp buildings.

As soon as most of the cars were gone from the parking lot, Danny carefully lifted into the air. Silently, he flew across the road that separated him from his target. Landing lightly on the roof, Danny began walking towards the door that would lead further into the building. He ducked to the side, quickly hiding behind the AC unit when the doorknob of the roof's door jiggled. Peridot green eyes hidden by white lenses watched one of security guards exit with a pack of smokes in his hand. The guard walked to the edge of the building, lit one up, and watched the few cars traveling up and down the road.

Danny slid out from the AC unit and tiptoed to the door. He opened it quietly and waved flirtatiously to the guard's back, smirking wide. The nineteen-year-old slipped through the door, closing it quietly behind him and locking it. Quietly, he mumbled "Bald-E-Locks, you need new security guards. Just sayin."

A few minutes later, the guard would throw his cigarette away and try to open the door, only to find out he couldn't.

Laughing quietly, Danny practically jumped down the steps with a skip in his step. At the bottom of the staircase was another door. Danny peeked his head out and made sure no one was in the vicinity before slipping through the door, closing it behind him while he did with a small _click_.

Danny pressed his ear-piece, watching as the blueprints for the building appeared in front of his eyes, flashing across his lenses. The teen quickly mapped out a course to the containment unit holding his prize.

Quick as a bullet and almost as quiet as Batman (_almost_), Danny took off down one of the hallways and weaved in and out of others. His ears perked for any sounds of any of the guards approaching his form. Even though he was vigilant for any other beings, none came and he was completely alone as he flew down hallways, slinking against the wall.

Danny tiptoed up to the locked door, holding his prize inside. There were no knobs to pull it open and pushing against it didn't make it budge even a tiny bit. There was a panel beside the door with the numbers 0-9 on it. It needed a code Danny didn't know nor could find out in a couple of minutes.

Easy fix though.

Busting the top of the panel off, Danny ripped some of the wires and messed with the circuitry inside.

Next to him, the door began to quietly open. It stayed open for a second before closing again and repeating the process again and again.

Danny slipped through the doors when they were opening, listening as they closed behind him again. As he took his first steps into the room, the doors reopened. A few more steps and he could hear them close again.

In the middle of the room, like usual (because Lex is so creative), there was a case with a tiny hard-drive inside. Instead of a translucent tube, there was a small box sitting on a black pillar with another pillar sitting on top. Locks and various safety gadgets were hooked to the glass, keeping it shut unless you knew how to open it without triggering the alarm.

Danny didn't find it too hard to get off. He picked the locks and overrode the codes on the devices. The hardest thing he had to get off was the frikkin child-lock on it. It had bewildered him so much; his hands had fumbled with the stupid thing before he finally just broke it off.

Opening the small glass door, Danny reached inside and picked up his prize. Looking it over, he knew it was an advanced decoder that took much less time to hack than the older ones. Danny planned on keeping it long enough to copy down the designs and make his own, if it even worked that is. If Luthor made a piece of crap (which happens rarely but has happened before), he was going to destroy it and make the billionaire make another one that actually _worked_.

As he stood up and slid the tiny drive in his belt pouch, Danny froze when he felt a few different presences enter the room behind him. He knew they weren't security guards; they would have made a big fuss before trying to shoot him. No, these people were different. They wanted to talk to him at the very least.

"Well, I'm going to guess it's you Cloaky's again, huh?" Danny asked, making sure to keep his voice low but loud enough so they could hear without a problem.

"You guessed correctly."

Danny turned around, his mouth turned into a smirk again as he was met with the same team of Cloaks he had taken down before. The red-cloaked girl was standing in the front of her team, hands over her hip and leaning on the leg that hadn't been shot.

Behind her, the green-cloaked figures kept their distance from the girl. The closest was the blue-cloaked form, probably her second-in-command if his stance was anything to go by.

They were all still favoring whichever leg had been shot, signaling they had not yet healed. It was a surprise to him, since he didn't think they would be back in the field so quickly. But then again, who knew anything about their master besides the basic info except them?

"You guys must be stupid if you're out in the field already. It's been what? Barely a week?" Danny said, putting both of his hands on his hips as he tilted his head to the side. His smirk was still in its place, radiating how much he was mocking them at that moment.

Behind her mask, the red-cloaked girl was glaring at him. He could practically feel the murderous intentions in the air and rolling off her form.

"Am I ticking you off?" Danny asked, making his voice sound sincere and mocking all at the same time.

"_Yes_."

"Good. It's my specialty."

The red-cloaked girl huffed and crossed her arms but didn't say anything more.

Danny found it strange. "Any reason you're just standing there and acting like a five-year-old that didn't get their way, only less whiny? I half-expected you to try and shoot me again since I probably have the thing you're after." He said, patting his pouch where the drive lay.

"We don't want the drive." The red-cloaked girl assured, waving it off casually but still irritably. "We're not even here to steal anything tonight. Another team's working on it."

Danny narrowed his eyes. "Well then, what _are_ you here for?"

"We're here to make a deal with you."

The white haired teen turned his head so sharply to the side that he was sure he'd have whiplash.

Standing beside the large window-wall was a man a lot older than Danny was, if his stature and brawn was anything to go by. He was wearing a similar outfit to his lackeys with a white cloak draping over his shoulders, a red clasp on his collarbone that kept it locked on. His white hood was up, covering his hair and its color. His mask was also a pale white with black and red painted markings all over it. Staring out from the eye-holes were two blue-grey orbs. His eyes were calm and thoughtful.

Danny was uneasy to find someone who could sneak up near him without him noticing. The only person he allowed to do that was Batman.

"Who the heck are you?" Danny questioned, his smirk turning into a frown as he looked the other over. His relaxed form tensed up slowly, trying not to be too outwardly rigid. If they saw he was on-guard with the newcomer, they'd feel like they had the advantage. Danny wanted to make sure they knew that they didn't.

"I am King." The white-cloaked figure answered, shrugging. "And you are Phantom?"

"Nah dib, Sherlock." Danny responded in his snarky way, making sure to lace his voice with disdain. "Glad to see your little pawns didn't omit me from their memory."

"When they show up at base with bullet wounds, I like to know who the cause was so I may punish them." King answered, eyes still calm even though Danny could be very trying with his loud and obnoxious attitude.

Danny laughed lowly behind his mask. "Aw, what are you going to do now? Give me a spanking? Ha, _please_."

"_No_." King drawled, rolling his eyes. "As I said before, I came to make a deal. I know you of all people won't allow yourself to be wounded by anyone."

"Oh yeah and what's this deal you got for me, huh? And why me? I'm one of the most irritating pests on the frikkin planet. What makes me so special that you decided to climb out from backstage where you pull all your puppets' little strings?" Danny questioned, tilting one shoulder downwards so they were uneven.

Danny heard a few insulted noises from the group of Cloaks to the side. He waved them off, angering them more but what were they going to do about it? It's not like they could rush him. They also wouldn't dare think of defying their master while he was standing just a few feet away anyways.

King only raised an eyebrow at the puppet comment. "They are not my puppets."

"Alright fine, your pawns. Either way, you're the one pulling their strings and making them dance. Now what's this deal you got for me, Mr. Puppet-Master?" Danny questioned, crossing his arms over his chest.

King's rolled his blue-grey eyes. "I want to offer you a place among the Cloaks. There's an opening that not many can fill. I want to see if you could possibly be one of the few that could be of such an important rank."

"So you want me to become a puppet?" Danny asked, a dry tone to his voice.

"The Cloaks are not my puppets."

"Whatever you say, Old Man." Danny said, waving it off. "Although… I will admit. I'm interested. I just need some time to think about this _generous_ offer. You just got to realize that I don't play well with others. I enjoy doing my own thing."

"And you will have that opportunity." King assured, though Danny knew it was really a lie. "How much time do you need to think about my offer?"

"Hm… Give me a couple of days." Danny answered, waving his hand around in the air easily. "How will I contact you?"

Though no one could see it, the occupants of the room felt a smirk grace King's face. "Don't worry about that. Just stay off your heists for the couple of days you need to think. Begin again when you have made your decision. We will find you."

Danny looked at King dryly. "You are aware that most people would be worried with that kind of statement, right?"

"Since when were you 'most people'?" King questioned, blue-grey eyes sparkling with silent mirth.

The white haired teen rolled his peridot eyes, form lax. Unexpectedly, he pulled his shotgun from its holster on its back. He used it to break the glass box that held the hard-drive, setting off the alarm throughout the building, and pointed the AA-12 where King was standing. The man quickly ducked to the side as Danny shot, breaking the glass behind him. While the Cloaks began firing at him, Danny laughed and rushed towards his opening. As he jumped out and twisted himself around, he yelled "See you in a few, Mr. Puppet-Master!"

As he fell, Danny turned invisible and disappeared from sight. He flipped his flight on and shot in the air, quickly flying from the LexCorp building in the midst of turmoil. Looking over his shoulder, Danny barely caught the Cloaks escaping to the roof through his exit, scaring the guard on the top before knocking him out, and taking off in another incoming helicopter. The cops were still approaching in the distant, too slow.

Flying to his original post outside the LexCorp building, Danny landed on the building with a quiet _thump _while returning to sight at the same time. Casually putting one hand on his hip, Danny pressed his com with the other. Smiling brightly, he asked "Hey Batsy, you there?"

"_Always._"

Danny hummed victoriously. "Phase One is complete. King is interested in me, even offered me a good spot in his little crime ring if I want."

"_Did you accept?_"

"Not officially. I said I wanted a few days to think. The few days will give us time to think about the infiltration plan a little deeper and get some new equipment."

"_Alright then. Good job._" Batman congratulated sincerely, making Danny beam. "_Get over here whenever you can._"

Danny hummed again. "I'll stop by tomorrow night. I'm tired right now."

"_Is that the truth or do you want to play with the drive you stole?_"

"…I'm telling you the truth."

"_No you aren't. Get over here, you little liar._"

"But Batman~!" Danny whined, bouncing in a little in his spot to emphasize his point, ignoring the fact his supervisor couldn't see him so he could mope around.

"_No buts. Get over here or I will personally see to it you are dragged to Gotham._"

"Fine~." Danny whined, pouting. Batman grunted as a sign of acknowledgement before Danny changed the channel of his com. "Hey Sam, where's that safe house you keep around again? I need to hide from Bats for the night so I can play with my new toy in peace. … Of course he won't find me..! What are you talking about, girl..?"

* * *

King glided up the steps, stopping on the platform the stairs led to. He turned, sitting back in his throne as he did. A content sigh fell from his lips as he crossed one ankle over his knee. He weaved his hands together and rested the conjoined limbs on his torso as he leaned back.

Looking around his empty throne-room, King felt peaceful, pleased, and excited.

Phantom, though a bit apprehensive, was interested in his offer. Good. That meant there was a good chance he'd join him. There was an even greater chance that he'd excel with them and be good enough to become the Shadow Cloak.

King sighed again as he looked to the spot the Shadow Cloak would stand by his side and be his second-in-command. That would be the day the Cloaks circle would close and they'd begin striving to be a greater force than ever.

Ah, good times were coming.

* * *

**Well, my grandparents are gone now. *thumbs up* Back to updating! But now I can't wait for July when I go and visit them and the rest of my family... -.-**

**And I'm painting King's identity on a neon billboard with neon paint. But I still won't answer your guesses. *another thumbs up***

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following: _W0lfbr0ther, Captain SubZero, Rose the Wary Wolf, BringbackDannyPhantom, Jedexa, Phoenixfire00, BestUsernameEver54321._**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following me: _Korben600, Angel22022, Sanguinis13. Redsnivy, Fanfiction Reader14, NightwingFeather._**

**Reviews:**

**Suntan140: Don't think so. Don't want to overuse the idea more than I already have and I don't follow that show closely, if at all.**

**KuriMaster13: Yeah... But who would win if Batman could punch Danny too? Then who would be more annoying? XD Hm, yeah, probably. **

**KainVixenheim: When you're blinded by rage, you tend to stop thinking logically. XD Glad to hear.**

**Oblitus Angeli: If you know me, everything gets worse before it gets better. XD We'll find out who King is later and if Vlad decides to show up. Yeah Suicide Squad! **

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Alfred's just awesome that way. XD Actually, he'd be pretty useless with the plot I got going right now.**

**16ckelman: EH, sorry! XD**

**Ninuhuju: All is going according to plan. YEAH! :D**

**IWasNeverReal: XD Always. Because he's _Alfred_. They should make an meme for that.**

**Phantom Heir Daughter of Zeus: Nope. Can't do that. It screws up my entire timeline and he'd be completely useless. *thumbs up***

**Poohbearmorris: XD Nice. And they're OCs but they're not going to be the main point.**

**Pegasus Sword Master: Well, I haven't made it that hard really. I'm trying to keep him in character. Haha! Thank you for appreciating my sense of humor! And everyone seems to want the Danny vs. Joker thing even though I cant do it because it's completely off topic.**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: Yes, Crispin is ice-chick. XD Glad you enjoyed~!**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: XD It's so good to see you back online! Nah, we're not actually going to see them face-off because this ain't The Abused/Those Teen Years. XD**

**Eirena Gaia: Dude, what Danny does at this point is a mystery. We'll see what he does. :) And I don't think you sound like a robot. A little all over the place, yes (that is a compliment by the way). But not a robot. XD**


	9. Safe-House

Ch.9: Safe-House

Danny sauntered up to Sam's safe-house door, holding Luthor's device in his hand while he whistled absently into the cool air while his free-hand held his backpack strap, having gotten it while stopping by his place on the way over. The white glow around his body made him stick out like a sore thumb in the dead of night in the middle of a deserted dessert. His glowing peridot eyes didn't help his cause out either.

Looking to the side as he stopped in front of the door, Danny could see the Las Vegas lights shining brightly in the distant. Spot-lights pointed towards space were waving back and forth, back and forth, back and forth trying to attract your attention to some grand opening or another. Other twinkling lights tried to draw other's eyes to their own amazing spectacle.

The mountains surrounding the structure kept the safe-house hidden from all the blinding lights and wandering eyes. Hopefully, from the Bat's eyes too.

Jiggling the knob, Danny wasn't surprised that the safe-house wasn't unlocked. Sam hadn't used the ratty old thing in a good, long while. Not since they all decided to try and stick to the hero-life a year ago. None of them had to use any of their safe-houses since then. No one had really had it out for them in a blood-lust way. They'd been ok in their own places.

Danny phased through the door when the dented plank of wood refused to open. Inside, his glowing body stuck out further because of the increased darkness. The nineteen-year-old used his glow to find the chain dangling in the middle of the room. He grabbed it and yanked, turning the single light-bulb on and illuminating the rest of the room.

In one corner, there was a fold-up table pushed up against the wall with a closed laptop sitting on top of it, a chair pushed into it. Adjacent to the table was a refrigerator that needed to be turned on and filled. Cabinets lined the other side of the small structure, probably filled with dry-foods and medical equipment, just in case. Everything was covered in a layer of dust that filled the air.

Danny crinkled his nose, wondering how Sam got power to the small house. He waltzed over to the lone window, throwing the curtains shut to keep most of the light in and all the sights on the other side out.

After throwing the curtains closed, Danny raided his friend's cabinet and found an old box of Ritz crackers. Shrugging, he opened it up, ripped open a sleeve, and fell into the chair he pulled out from under the table. Tossing one cracker in his mouth, Danny opened the laptop and turned it on. While he waited patiently for it to boot-up, the white-haired boy transformed back into his human half while throwing another cracker in his mouth.

The computer eventually made a small chime sound, signaling to the user that it was alive and ready to use.

Danny leaned forward, easily finding his way into the Dark-Net while bringing up two more tabs; one for Luthor's businesses and the other for music. Absently, he ate the crackers sitting beside his computer in-between tasks.

Plugging in the device he stole, Danny did some typing before programming the drive to hack into Luthor's website. The drive did as it was told, easily hacking into the simple website so Danny could change a few things around to mess with the poor billionaire's head.

Danny trolled the website for a little bit, cackling, before he assigned the drive to hack into something bigger _and bigger and bigger_. With every new site he hacked into, Danny bumped up the difficulty level to see how well it could do. Finally, he let it hack into the Bat-Cave computer just to see how well it would.

Not surprisingly, it wasn't able to hack into the Batman's Cave computer. It got close but it didn't make it before the Dark Knight was trying to trace the signal and Danny quickly exited the test. He was very keen on keeping his coordinates safe because, currently, Batman was trying to get a hold of him and Danny had turned his phone and communicator off a long time ago. That kind of move would definitely tick off the Dark Knight and make him hunt the nineteen-year-old down.

Humming, Danny slipped the drive from its spot in the port. Turning it around in his hands, his blue eyes took in its design and wondered about the drive's insides.

Using his fingernail, Danny popped the tiny, thin panel off the side of the drive. After the tiny panel, he began dismantling the rest of the outside covering so he could look at the small equipment inside. After an easy assessment, Danny nodded to himself impressed. Maybe Luthor could do something good for once, even though its purpose was for evil…

Reaching into his backpack, Danny pulled out another drive that had the same basic design as the hacking drive.

The nineteen-year-old popped off the shell surrounding the inside of the drive that he pulled from his backpack. After switching some things around and adjusting a few others, Danny put the two drives down with a look of satisfaction.

Plain and simple, he had switched the shells of the drives so the hacking drive was nothing more than storage and the storage drive was now the hacker.

So whenever Luthor got his drive back, he'd sell it to the army (or some other organization), they'd find out it was something you could buy at Walgreens, and give the bald man hell.

Danny really loved his life sometimes.

Just as he put the two drives on the table in front of him side-by-side, the doorknob jingled from the outside and Danny hopped up from his seat, landing in a defense position. Praying, he hoped it wasn't the Dark Knight that had tracked him down from halfway across the country. That would suck, since he was sure to get a new bruise and a verbal lashing from the older.

On the bright side, he had switched the shells so Batman would confiscate the storage drive. He'd probably figure out it wasn't the hacker before he gave it back to Luthor but, by then, Danny would have hidden his new toy somewhere safe and/or would have uploaded the program onto his computer.

The door opened with a start and Sam cursed as she stumbled forward.

Danny dropped his stance quickly, trying to hide the fact he had been on the verge of attacking his friend. That would surely end with a physical lashing that could rival Batman's when he was feeling particularly vengeful some days.

"Sam…" Danny smiled nervously, rubbing his neck. "What are you doing here?"

The girl straightened her posture, dusting off her clothes while closing the door behind her. Turning to her friend, she leaned to one side with her hand on her hip and an un-amused expression on her face. "This is _my_ safe-house. You called me about it, remember?"

Danny chuckled nervously, still rubbing his neck furiously and turning the skin raw. "Oh right, of course! How could I forget?"

"You thought I was Batman, right?"

"Yup. I barely got my work done before you showed up so I assumed it was him, out for my blood. He always has a way of showing up when I don't want him to." Danny answered, shrugging and dropping his hand from his neck. "Did you invite Tucker to the party too?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah. He should be showing up pretty soon but you know how much he hates driving up here."

Danny barked a small laugh. "Ha! Yeah! I remember one time he rode with me because his bike had broke down! He was holding on so tightly that I don't think I breathed for a couple of minutes."

"That sounds like Tucker." Sam said, smirking. She hummed a little in amusement before glancing over her friend's shoulder to see his work. "Hey, are those my Ritz?!"

Danny blanched, slowly stepping in front of them. "Noooooo…"

Sam glared and pointed at him. "If you eat that entire thing, you are getting me another box. I keep those here for emergencies, remember?"

"My tummy was hungry. I thought that counted as an emergency." Danny said, smiling sheepishly and rubbing his stomach for emphasis.

"You're always hungry!"

"Not always!"

"Yes, you are! You just don't realize it!"

"Then that means I'm not hungry!"

"Yes it does!"

"Are we seriously having this argument?" Danny yelled at his friend, slapping a hand over his face while the other rested on his hip.

"Yup." Sam answered casually, easily relaxing again.

Danny sighed, rolling his eyes before falling back into his seat. Turning around, he plugged in his hacker and began playing around with it on various levels of difficulty, still trying to see where its limits were.

Sam walked up behind the boy, resting her arms across his shoulders and resting her chin on his head. Danny didn't stir when she did the gesture, used to her doing such things from past experience.

"What're you doing~?" Sam sung, tilting her head to the side unconsciously as she began unraveling the symbols flashing across the screen.

"Playing with my new toy." Danny answered, smirking. "Do you have any idea of when Tucker is getting here?"

Sam made a sound in the back of her throat as a negative. "Nah. He wasn't too far behind me but sometimes he gets lost trying to get up here."

Danny let a small laugh pass through his lips, shifting for a more comfortable position. Sam was still leaning on his head. "Yeah. I remember that one time he got lost for, what? Six hours? I thought he had gone completely insane when we found him."

The ebony-haired girl leaning on the ebony-haired boy's head hummed again and laughed a little.

The doorknob jiggled again, alerting the two to another presence outside the door. They briefly looked at it before going back to watching Danny's new plaything work its way into the Pentagon's mainframe.

Tucker walked through the door, grumbling and fixing his jacket. "Why did you guys have to go to this safe-house? Why couldn't we have gone to Danny's or something? His is closer and _safer_!"

"Yeah, but Batman knows the locations of all of my safe-houses." Danny responded while glancing at the boy, a scowl on his face. "I have yet to get rid of a couple and get new ones he won't know the coordinates too."

"And this safe-house is much more hidden than the other just randomly sitting in the dessert." Sam added, shrugging while taking a step to the side so Tucker could lean against Danny as well. The two each had a shoulder to rest their arms on while they leaned against the red-banged male.

Danny glanced at the two dryly, listening to the beeps of the computer. "Why are both of you leaning on me?"

"Because I'm not giving up my leaning post to a scared-y cat." Sam replied, bumping her shoulder against Tucker's.

The cocoa-skinned boy rolled his eyes. "You guys made me come up here!"

"We did not~!" Danny whined, sticking out his tongue before turning back to the computer. He perked when all the firewalls were taken down, leaving all the Pentagon's secrets open to them. All three leaned forward as Danny began reading through some of the important documents that had been approved by the President.

"You know…" Tucker started, glancing between his two friends dryly. "We really shouldn't be doing this. Something about giving up our dark ways or something…"

Danny waved him off. "It's all fine, Tuck. It's not like we're going to sell their secrets or anything. We're just taking a looky-through, is all. We'll leave the military alone in a couple of minutes. We're just skimming."

"Yeah…" Sam mumbled, leaning forward a little more to read something about one project going on in Area 51.

Tucker shrugged, not really caring what they did either way. He asked a question about Danny's heist that night and why the heck he was hanging out in Sam's safe-house to begin with, dragging the android-maker all the way up the mountain to hang out.

Danny answered all the questions easily and without much thought. He went through his story quickly, not adding too much detail and focusing mostly on the conversation that went on between him and King. He briefly mentioned the other Cloaks but they didn't pose as much of a problem this time around as the first. The nineteen-year-old enjoyed telling his friends about his escape, though. It was probably his favorite part out of all of it.

"So when are you going to tell him you're joining him and all?" Sam asked, resting her cheek against the boy's head as her tired eyes read over another project as they continued on with their conversation.

Danny shrugged, shifting his form to sit straighter in his seat to get rid of the ache in his spine. "Three days, give or take. Unknowingly, King just gave me a couple of days off from the whole bad-guy plan."

"Sounds pleasant." Tucker commented.

Danny hummed. "Yup."

The three were enveloped in silence, still going through the Pentagon's secrets, on-going projects, and future plans around the country. It was seriously one of the most interesting things they had done in a long time. Once they finished reading one file, they quickly moved onto the next.

Tucker, putting three-fourths of his weight on Danny's shoulders to ease the ache in his feet, looked from the computer screen to his watch with blood-shot eyes. Not all that surprised, he looked at his two friends, quietly noticing how tired his eyes were from staring at the screen. "Hey guys. We've been looking through the Pentagon's mainframe for about four hours now."

"You're kidding." Danny said, looking from the screen with his own tired eyes and looking up at his friend with a shocked expression.

Sam looked at her own watch strapped to her wrist, groaned, and dropped her forehead into Danny's knotty hair. "He's not kidding…"

Danny had the decency to gain a guilty look and began closing the laptop down. "Whoops…"

But he didn't have enough common courtesy to say sorry to the Pentagon workers. The poor saps…

Tucker and Sam, both stiff from standing in the same general position for four hours, began stretching to get the kinks out of their muscles. Groans escaped their mouths as they worked out their aching bodies.

Danny stood up and joined them, suggesting "You guys want to go find a closed pool and swim? I feel like getting wet for some reason."

The other two rolled the idea around in their heads before agreeing to the suggestion. They all felt the intense desire to get out of their holes, get some exercise, and stretch all of their muscles while just playing around.

Danny packed up his junk, closed the laptop, tucked the chair back under the table, and grabbed the chain dangling from the ceiling. The boy turned off the single light source before he followed his friends out the door, closing it behind him. Danny walked to his bike as Sam locked the door behind them with her key. The three loosely swung their legs over their motorcycles before starting them up and retreating from the safe-house.

The Trio slowly and carefully drove down the mountain the safe-house was hidden in. There was no real road leading up to the small structure; just a narrow, dirt path filled with loose pebbles and gravel. The narrow path led through large boulders, down steep hills, and beside cliffs. They made sure their headlights were on, casting light across their path so they could see the obstacles in their way.

Getting down the mountain took only about half-an-hour to forty-five minutes. Once they were down and out of immediate danger, they picked up the pace and drove down a flat dirt path leading to a back-road. They took the back-road to an exit, where the Trio merged onto the highway steadily with the other night-drivers. Getting back to Vegas was a breeze.

Once safely back in the brightly lit city, the Trio cruised to the community pool. It was closed when they pulled up, since it was three AM and no one wanted to lifeguard at such a time. Other attractions were open anyways. If a person wanted to stay up, they could just go to one of those places. They could go swimming the next morning.

The Trio hopped off their bikes, ignoring the emptiness and darkness surrounding the large pool. Danny, Sam, and Tucker walked over silently. The red-banged boy jumped over first, careful of the pointed prods sticking up at the end of each spike. Danny watched Sam jump over next, making sure she landed on the ground without an incident before whispering he was going to go flip on the underwater pool lights and cover the security cameras.

Sam nodded, listening to Danny's quick steps as he raced away to do as he said. She watched Tucker jump over before they, too, slunk over to the pool area, keeping out of the cameras sights. The two waited in their spots, watching as the pool lights came on and Danny came back, all his tasks done.

With no need to be quiet any longer, the Trio broke out into a conversation as they waltzed over to the pool's edge, stripping down to their undergarments because they hadn't bothered to stop by their apartments and grab their bathing suits. Not like it mattered too much anyways, though. They were the only ones watching and it wasn't the first time they had broken into the pool, though it had been awhile since their last break-in.

"Hey guys, watch!" Tucker said excitedly while doing a cannonball into the pool, whooping. Sam and Danny laughed while watching before they jumped in after, ignoring the cool nip of the water as they submerged into the pool.

Tucker's head popped up first, giving a small gasp for air. The two ebony-haired youths quickly followed suit, bright smiles on all of their faces as they began dispersing and drifting throughout the pool.

"This was a good idea, Danny." Sam commented, floating on her back as her hands paddled towards the shallow end.

Danny beamed, giving a thumbs up while swimming in a circle. "Why thank you!"

"It's one of your few." Sam continued, smirking as she straightened herself out to stand.

Danny glared at the girl while Tucker began laughing, holding on to the concrete edge of the deep end. "You suck."

Sam smirked, waving flirtatiously to her friend while teasingly tilting her head to the side for extra measure.

Tucker pushed off the wall, paddling past Danny and continuing on to where Sam was standing in the shallow end. "Come on, Danny~! Don't be such a downer! We're swimming!"

"What does swimming have to do with anything?"

"Nothing but it's fun~!"

Danny rolled his eyes at the answer but followed after his friend leisurely, taking broad strokes with the bottom half of his face submerged in water.

Tucker sighed contently, crouching down so the water was up to his neck. "Isn't it refreshing to be doing something we shouldn't be doing again? I know it is for me."

Sam laughed and nodded, agreeing with her cocoa-skinned friend while she stood straight.

Danny copied Tucker's actions, staying submerged up to his throat while he crouched in the shallow end of the pool. "You know, it really is. I've been kind of enjoying doing heists again, ignoring the fact it's for the greater good and all."

Sam and Tucker glanced at each other before smiling at their red-banged friend.

"We get it." Tucker simply said in reassurance, flashing his white teeth at the ebony-haired nineteen-year-old.

Sam tilted her head and teasingly asked "You going to go back to the Dark Side?"

Danny's smile never faltered but the two noticed he didn't respond right away. "…nah guys. The Bat would kill me if I did. Besides, I'm kinda enjoying the fact I can rub my story in the Leaguers' faces and all… Pretty entertaining, if you ask me."

"It'd be entertaining for anybody." Sam agreed, storing the response away for later investigation.

Danny smiled in agreement before drifting onto his back, floating on top of the water comfortably. His blue eyes watched the stars while Tucker dove under the water, swimming around under the water's surface. Sam silently began doing laps, taking gasps of breath every time her head broke the surface for air.

When Danny had taken in enough of the few stars shining through the lights of Las Vegas, the red-banged boy straightened out and planted his feet on the bottom of the pool. Hands floating on top of the water, Danny looked around and almost immediately his eyes met the Dark Knight's, watching him and his friends silently with an annoyed scowl on his face while casually sitting atop the pool house roof.

"Aww~!" Danny whined, beating his fists against the water's surface once. Tucker's head popped out of the water and he looked to where Danny was gazing. He groaned, grabbing Sam as she began swimming by, pointing to the Dark Knight while Danny continued with his act. "You weren't supposed to find us till, at least, tomorrow morning~!"

Batman's expression stayed the same, not even lightning at the fact he managed to make Danny act like a child that didn't get his way. "You should know by now that I will find you, one way or another."

Danny pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. Sam and Tucker swam up beside him, standing and copying his actions.

"Where's the drive?" Batman asked, getting right down to business with the three.

Sighing, Danny pointed to where his backpack was sitting on one of the plastic chairs. "It's in the first pouch. You know what it looks like, I'm assuming…"

"Always." Batman answered, jumping down from the roof and landing silently on the concrete. Standing straight, he took casual steps over to where the backpack was sitting. He opened the front pocket, grabbed the drive, and stashed it away in his belt. Turning to where the teens were watching him with pouting eyes, he waved. "You all have fun swimming."

Without another word, the Dark Knight was beamed from Las Vegas.

Danny waited for the light of the beam to be gone before he began quickly retreating from the pool with a flailing of arms. Sam and Tucker watched him with wide eyes, shocked completely.

"What are you doing?!" Sam asked.

Danny began throwing on his clothes, ignoring how they became soaked upon contact. "Bats grabbed the storage one! I'm going to go home for a few minutes, download the program onto my computer, and come back! Who knows when Batman will come back for the real thing?!"

Sam and Tucker nodded in understanding and yelled goodbyes after the hurried male, watching as he barely jumped over the fence while shrugging his backpack and ran into his bike. They laughed as he stumbled trying get on, yelling at himself for being stupid. Danny turned the bike on with a small roar before he zoomed out of the parking lot and into the main drag, ignoring all traffic laws.

"He's so going to get hit by a bus on the way home." Sam joked, laughing with Tucker.

* * *

**I got a new idea for this story yesterday. Prepare to be majorly trolled by a weirdo. HEHEHEHE~! *crazy, evil grin that's really dog-on excited for the future***

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following: _Boydragon1, NoSignalBlueScreen, MysticalCreaturesRock._**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following me: _Boydragon1._**

**Reviews:**

**PHOENIX1020: That's wonderful.**

**Guest of Honor: After telling you I'm not bothering with answering anyone's guesses, you still guessed. Because that makes sense.**

**Expergiscimini: So glad to hear I could brighten your day!**

**IWasNeverReal: XD Alfred meme... Need to get someone to make one... Glad you liked!**

**KuriMaster13: Hm, yeah. But still, Joker... And I still stand by my opinion that intangibility and invisibility are seriously irritating to write with, which is why I ignore them most of the time. *thumbs up***

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Woo! You just thought of a pun I didn't realize! Sweet! XD Nice. You keep going with that. And I'm a chick. *thumbs up***

**Ninuhuju: ...oh my gosh, you knew before I even posted the frikkin chapter. It's almost a frikkin line too and you reviewed after I finished it. What are you? Psychic?**

**KainVixenheim: My nails do the same thing. And don't know those fandoms. Uh, yeah that's a little weird. Shadow Cloak is just a rank... Is it bad that cannibalism doesn't weird me out all that much..? Cause it really doesn't...**

**DaniFenton7thGradePhantom: Well... Your reviews are always interesting, to say the least. XD**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: Oh, there's always major backstabbing when Danny's involved! :D Have I told you how much I've missed you?**

**Roselin: Oh, that poor sucker deserves a break. XD**

**16ckelman: Yeah, he knew. XD**

**Kimori Takahashi: Yeah and Batsy barely has control of Danny! SO BEAT THAT SUCKAS! XD**

**Phantom Heir Daughter of Zeus: Not answering guesses.**

**Poohbearmorris: Bats would definitely despise Danny killing again. :)**

**Pegasus Sword Master: HA! Yeah! He went a little trigger-happy! Yes he is...**

**BoyDragon1: Hey~! **


	10. Burning Red, Angry Acceptance

Ch.10: Burning Red, Angry Acceptance

Danny stood atop a building's edge, tightly holding onto the high-tech gun he stole from Stagg Industries. The hand he used to hold his prize with was tighter than the rest of his muscles. The rest of his body were taunt and the green eyes behind his mask were narrowed dangerously. Growling angrily, he glanced to his sides, wondering if his little 'buddies' were ever going to show up.

Frankly, he wanted to have been able to take one day off before he jumped back into another fray but _no_, the mission needs to proceed apparently.

Sure, it had been two days since his last 'I accept!' heist but come on, Danny liked his breaks… Was that so much to ask for..?

Somewhere in the deep, dark recesses of Danny's mind, he knew the answer to the question. However, the part of his mind that was irrational and overemotional kept his reasonable side quiet by pointing an imaginary gun called 'insanity' at its head.

Sighing for the umpteenth time since he'd begun waiting, Danny's peridot green eyes bore holes into the ray-gun he was staring down. His irritation was ever-growing. The nineteen-year-old was thinking about giving King's offer the middle finger and leaving altogether. Sure, Bats would be ticked at him but the white-haired teen wasn't dealing with the kind of crap he was being tossed.

Now, Danny never practiced punctuality. But he always expected it from other people, especially high and mighty bad guys. They loved their image too much for that kind of thing.

As he begun pacing along the side of the building, Danny's grip on the trigger of the ray-gun tightened. It was very tempting to use it just to get some tension from his body and take his mind off the fact he'd been in the same spot for the past forty minutes without knowing if his associates would show up anyways. He had hoped that tonight would be the night and that he wouldn't waste his time waiting for nothing.

Growling, Danny turned sharply again and began stalking down the ledge again.

The nineteen-year-old also knew it wasn't the Cloaks' absence that was ticking him off. No, he'd been riled up since before the heist began. Even a little before that, as well. Having another actual, legit fight with the Dark Knight could do that to a person.

Man, they had been passing some insults tonight. Their quick tongues allowed for them to have such words on hand. Some of the names they called each other were so unexpected and hurtful that the little Robin listening nearby had been quiet and shocked the entire argument, silently watching as the two opponents broke their already fragile relationship down even more.

What had even started the fight? Danny couldn't remember. Really, the only things he remembered about that fight were the insults he said that he thought would never come out of his mouth (no matter how mad he was), the insults thrown at him by his supervisor, the excuses they made, and the completely horrified look on Damian's face.

Everything about the fight still pricked at his heart and mind. His cheeks felt hot and something burned in his stomach. His muscles felt ready to spring at even the smallest of annoyances and his mouth was ready to start firing words he didn't mean. The only thing he wanted to do was yell his voice out or beat the crud out of something.

However, such resources were not available to him.

Stopping abruptly, Danny pointed the ray at the sky, fully prepared to fire the weapon a thousand shots per second. Angry tears pricked at his eyes, burning like fire.

Danny wasn't even sure why his tear-ducts were suddenly overflowing. It's not like he felt remorse or sad or guilty or any of the emotions one would feel when accompanied with the small droplets of water. No, all he felt was sizzling anger and burning hatred. His mind was still thinking up hurtful names to call the other, though he'd left the other's presence hours ago.

The white-haired teen's hand ached to pull the trigger. His overemotional side told himself he'd only do it once. He'd only fire it at the sky once. Then he'd be ok. He'd go back to normal. Everything would blow over like it usually did. Everything would go back to the way it usually was, back before they started having these fights.

The reasonable part of his mind whispered that it wouldn't be once; he would lose it; it wouldn't just be the sky. He was more likely to ravage the city to the ground with the weapon than just use it one time. His reasonable side told him to either destroy the piece of machinery before he finally pulled the trigger or give the weapon to Batman: someone who would never let him do such a thing.

Danny growled again, his mind coming to the decision it was going to pull the frikkin thing anyhow.

"I see someone's not too happy today."

The glowing eyed male turned to barrel to the source of the voice, quick as a bullet. His jaw was clenched, trying to keep all the insults he was so ready to shoot to himself. It wasn't the right person; he shouldn't waste perfectly good, hurtful words on the wrong person.

But then again… Seeing King with his lackeys surrounding him made his rage burn brighter for some reason or another. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered why but realized he didn't really care. Everything seemed to be irritating in that moment.

"Where were you?!" Danny hissed, shooing away the sight of ice-chick's hands glowing blue and the others holding him at gun point. But he was doing the same thing. "This is the fourth heist I've done to get your attention! It should have been the _second_!" Danny jumped down from the ledge and stalked forward, pressing the gun to the older's forehead. He hadn't given any time for King to say anything. "_Well?!_"

Behind King, the red-cloaked girl's fiery blue hand was pointing at Danny's head, as well as the other five's weapons.

However, Danny didn't seem to acknowledge his apparent danger. Any other might back down in fear of their life but no, not Danny. Not right now, when his anger was keeping the hurt from the foremost of his mind and keeping it from picking at his heart. The anger kept away the guilt too, keeping his mind focused on the other's fault when he should be focusing on his own.

King, with his grey-blue eyes, bore holes into the shorter teen's white lenses, silently wishing he could look into the other's orbs to get his point across. If he were anyone else, he might have put his hands up in surrender but he was not anyone else. "I think you need to calm down."

"_That doesn't answer my question_!"

"Keep yelling at me and you won't receive one." King hissed back, eyes flashing dangerously at the younger.

Danny growled up at his opponent, green starting to shine through his lenses. "I do what I want, when I want, and how I want. If you think that because I'm only _interested_ in your offer that I'll _listen_ to you, you're _dead wrong_. If you think I won't blast this stupid thing through your head, then you're just _dead_."

"If I die, you die with me, little fool." King responded easily, shrugging to the Cloaks behind him.

"I'd like to see them try." Danny hissed, voice lowering dangerously.

King narrowed his eyes at the boy, taking in the stance the male was standing in and the way his muscles were coiling like a snake. He listened to the younger's heavy breathing and the rise and fall of his hysterical voice. So much emotion, so much energy, yet so little care for his actions.

"Will you put your new plaything down first, at least? I don't appreciate having a _gun_ pointed at my head." King asked, clasping his hands behind his back and straightening his spine out further.

Danny didn't move for a few seconds before he shakily pointed the barrel at the ground. His glare, though hidden behind white lenses, was still aimed at the older, masked figure. King could feel it through the mask; he didn't even need to see it.

"_Answers. Now._" Danny hissed before turning on his heel. He walked a few paces away before he began pacing back and forth beside the ledge. The nineteen-year-old's head was bowed towards the ground, a million thoughts rushing through his mind while his ears perked for any sound that would come from King's mouth. His finger still ached to pull the trigger, getting worse every minute.

As soon as Danny's weapon was dropped, the Cloaks hesitantly dropped their own weapons. Each gun was pointed towards the rooftop of the building while the Crimson Cloak dropped her hands to her side; the angry, glowing ice died from her fingertips, leaving them cold and bare.

King watched the nineteen-year-old pace, wondering if he had made a mistake with this one. He could deal with an irritating, pain in the butt. But an angry youth? Now that would be a challenge to work with.

"As to why we're only catching up to you know, the answer is quite simple. _You're hard to predict_. We weren't even sure if you would even be here tonight." King stated harshly, trying to bring the other to reason. "I told you I would find you and I did, didn't I?"

"Not in enough time!" Danny yelled, peridot eyes boring holes into the ground in front of him as he paced. "I waited at each site for, _at least_, an hour before I left, just to make sure you really weren't coming! I wasted all that time for nothing! Do you know what I could have done with that kind of time?! _So much!_ Like, hack into President's systems to see if he's some kind of scumbag or something!"

"What you do with your time is not my problem." King said, glaring at the pacing male.

Danny laughed hollowly, stopping and grinning madly. "No, of _course not_! Silly me! Why on earth would I think doing something reasonable, like setting up a meeting place and time, would be worth it? No, trying to track one of the most untraceable people in the frikkin country is a great idea! Yes! _Thank you for making sense_!" Danny screeched. The green light from his eyes was starting to really shine through his white lenses.

"Will you stop yelling? Someone is going to hear you." King reprimanded, gesturing around the area around him. Skyscrapers towered above them and the people were walking along the sidewalks under them, cars driving up and down the streets. If Danny got any louder, he might be able to get the pedestrians' attention.

Danny threw his head back and laughed, bordering the line between 'burning fury' and 'total hysteria'. "You think I care?! Really? I was fully prepared to blow your brains out earlier! What makes you think I care about a couple of passer-bys?!"

King's blue-grey eyes flashed dangerously. "You need to _calm. Down. Now._"

Danny growled, falling back into his earlier anger and irritation instead of falling into fury-induced insanity. "Yeah, let's tell that to the trigger-happy, angry person! _Genius idea_! Because it's _always_ worked before splendidly!"

"I don't know who or what made you so riled up and, frankly, _I don't care_." King stated, voice firm and stance tense. "But if you don't get your act together, consider this more wasted time on your part because we will leave and you can consider the offer _terminated_."

Danny growled low in his throat, unhappy at being threatened in such a way. No anxiety for an uncompleted mission showed up, though. If he was thinking straight, he would know that he was doing one of the worst possible acts ever. He needed to get back on track and stay grounded, even though that was proving to be rather difficult on his part.

The nineteen-year-old stopped pacing opposite of the older male. Though his body was rigid still, he fell back into an old stance easily with one hand on his hip and his choice of weapon leaning against his shoulder. The white-haired teen took a few calming breathes while he allowed his eyes to stop glowing so brightly with emotion, returning his mask lenses back to their usual white.

"There. I'm calm." Danny hissed, voice low and edgy. "Now about your stupid offer…"

King nodded in recognition, eyes calm and cool again. "Shall I assume you accept the position, seeing as you have been waiting for us for who-knows-how-long?"

"Yeah." Danny replied, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest loosely. For the first time in a long time, the grip he had on his choice weapon was lax and his hand wasn't eager to pull the trigger. Though it was still simmering, his anger wasn't as fiery as it was a second ago and was much more controllable than before.

King nodded, a small, pleased smile gracing his lips behind his painted mask. He turned, heading over to the side of the building with the Cloaks following behind like lost puppies. "Good. If you will just follow us, we'll head off to our transportation and drive to our base."

Danny scoffed but slowly followed after his new 'comrades'. "After all the wonderful escapes you all have made in helicopters, you _drove_ here? Why not take the chopper? It's probably much quicker than, say, a truck or a van."

"While the helicopter is much quicker, it is also much more expensive." King stated, glancing over his shoulder while stopping at the edge of the building. His lackeys went ahead of him, easily gliding down the side of the building on ropes. "It is also much more conspicuous. No, I much prefer the helicopter for quick escapes, if need be."

"Just make it quieter." Danny said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world while walking up beside the older.

King glared at the younger dryly. "Are you an engineer?"

"I know how to work on motorcycles and how to hotwire most kinds of vehicles. Other than that, no. My skills are more focused around computers, equipment, weapons, and other hardware of the sort." Danny explained, shrugging his shoulders.

"Then we're not making the helicopter quieter." King said, taking one of the ropes in his hands and following after the Cloaks already hitting the pavement.

Danny rolled his eyes behind his mask, mentally listing off a bunch of engineers that could do something as simple as make a helicopter quieter. Most of the engineers-for-hire on the Dark-Net weren't even evil. They just didn't care and wanted to make a quick buck. Tucker could be counted among those people and would probably upgrade the helicopter if you offered enough cash.

As he stood above on the ledge, Danny was almost tempted to kick the grapple off the side of the roof, sure to make King fall to the sidewalk and go _splat! _He didn't do it, of course, but it felt good to think of something devious again, something more along his thinking if a bit darker than usual. It meant his anger was beginning to die down more and he was thinking straighter again. Though not quite there all the way yet, he was simmering down.

Danny quietly floated down after the Cloaks and their master, landing on the ground silently. King was standing beside a black van (which, to Danny, was pretty conspicuous because everyone was always suspicious of black and white vans) while the Cloaks piled in the back. The red-cloaked girl was in the driver's seat, turning the van on.

King gestured for the white-haired teen to get in the back and follow the other five in.

Grumbling under his breath, Danny followed the other Cloaks' examples and climbed in the back after them, falling onto one of the benches lining the edges on the van. Across from his, the blue-cloaked second-in-command stared at Danny through their mask. Beside Danny, two of the green cloaks were pressed together in their seats, away from the wolf-masked boy. Sitting beside the blue-cloaked figure, the other uneasy green Cloaks huddled together as well.

"Well…" The blue-cloaked figure started, shoulders rigid but masculine voice casual. "Welcome to the Cloaks. We do hope you enjoy stay with us."

* * *

**Don't know about you guys but that's usually how my temper goes. I either explode in someone's face or simmer for a good, long while _then_ explode. It gets to the point where I literally think the only word good for it is 'insanity' just because it's so nerve-racking. *shrugs casually* We go further into the fight later!**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following: _Darkhorse Douglas, 16ckelman, Sarra Torrens._**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following me: _Popcornbubbles77._**

**Reviews:**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Oh, I feel ya. Names are so weird sometimes. XD Glad you're enjoying!**

**KuriMaster13: You're probably one of the few that can't wait for THE THINGY. XD Oh, a lot more trouble than you think.**

**Guest of Honor: ...except that is probably one of the most annoying things in the world...**

**Pegasus Sword Master: You would think Batsy would learn, right? XD ...oh my gosh, thank you for pointing out that point. May I hug you?**

**IWasNeverReal: Always~! :D**

**Dani: If he didn't find out now, Bats sure will in the future. XD I've said it twice and many other times to other people: not answering guesses. Why does everyone feel the compelling need to guess? It's seriously annoying after I told everyone...**

**KainVixenheim: Either way, Danny's in for a would of hurt. XD Same. I'm very indifferent to... Everything. I'm not a good friend to have sometimes.**

**BoyDragon1: XD Yeah, I made it kinda big... It's fun to read though! **

**BringbackDannyPhantom: Just making sure. XD No one wants to be Danny when Batsy's mad at him... XD**

**Oblitus Angeli: King's in one of the universes, although I'm so happy you're oblivious. No worries. He's not an OC. XD Oh, you know I'm going to do that! Not necessarily kill a character (seriously, my body count is already ridiculous) but it does get darker. And, hilariously enough, Dark-Net/Borderline was inspired by a picture that wasn't even that good. XD**

**16ckelman: XD Happens to the best of us! Oh definitely, as we have just seen...**


	11. Our Somber Stories

Ch.11: Our Somber Stories

Bruce drummed his fingers against the table in front of him, breathes still heavy as ever. His free hand was rubbing his temple, trying to ease the migraine he could feel slowly coming on. His blue eyes were closed, almost wishing he could fall asleep but knowing full well he had work to do. The faster he got it done, the faster he wouldn't have to deal with it anymore.

The tension in his muscles was still prominent, even though it should have left him hours ago. It made him extremely jumpy and anxious, even though Bruce knew there wasn't anything to be anxious about. It was taking every bit of strength not to accidently lash out at Alfred every time he came around to check on him, as was his nightly routine. The aging butler had done it every night since the beginning of his career without fail and he'd keep doing it till the day he died.

The hardest part was Damian. The ten-year-old had taken to checking on his father every other hour or so, though he'd never done it before. Sometimes he didn't say anything and Bruce would miss his presence altogether. Other times he'd ask a question and the Dark Knight would jerk in his seat. The first time he'd done it, Damian had taken a quick step back. Every time after that, he made sure to keep his distance before he said anything.

Gotham's Guardian had surmised that his and Danny's fight had been particularly brutal if he was still feeling the effects, even after hours of being away from the nineteen-year-old's presence. Usually, all his irrational energy stemming from his anger vanished the minute one of them said something that crossed an invisible line. This time, however, they crossed the line and began running with it, getting miles and miles deep into the forbidden area and getting even more riled up than before.

None of them had stopped either. Danny had been yelling at him as he stalked out the door, pretty much slamming it behind him and flipping his supervisor off while he did.

Not that he had done any better. Bruce had practically invited the red-banged male to leave. At the time, he would've even opened the front door and bowed just to get Danny out of the vicinity. It was suffocating with the nineteen-year-old in the room.

And Damian had watched the _entire_ thing, start to finish. The ten-year-old had stayed rooted to his spot in the parlor doorframe, not daring to move an inch from his spot. Blue eyes had been wide and mortified.

Though he had grown up with a bunch of assassins, Damian had never seen a fight quite like Danny and Bruce's. He was used to swords being the main weapon, not words. And somehow, words tended to hurt more than a sword ever did.

What had the fight been about again? Bruce couldn't quite remember, though he knew it probably began with the ridiculous hacking program Luthor made. They had been so caught up in damaging the other as best they could; the two had forgotten what started the fight in the first place.

Since then, neither had talked to the other. Bruce had tried to get in contact but Danny hadn't picked up. That could mean a lot of things. Danny didn't like to answer his calls after a fight, simply to get the Dark Knight to face him head on. He also might've gone out and did the job he was supposed to do that night. That, or Danny had hit a bar or a some random store he would, no doubt, impulsively start stealing from for no other reason than just _doing it_.

Bruce was starting to rule out the gig one though. Danny always called him after a heist, telling him about any updates in their progress and assuring him he'd bring the thing stolen over to him so the Dark Knight could stash it away for later. Sometimes he'd call just before breaking in just because he was bored waiting around.

However, Bruce had received no such calls. Not even a text message from Danny had popped up. It was starting to be extremely worrisome.

"Father?"

The Dark Knight barely suppressed jumping sky high. At the rate he was steadily keeping, Bruce was sure he was going to do something stupid eventually. He'd barely kept from smacking Danny throughout the entire fight; now he trying to keep himself from doing the same to his son. It was all so frustrating because he didn't want to be like that.

...he needed to hit something.

Standing up from his spot and feeling his cape drape around his form, Bruce calmly looked over to where Damian was standing a good couple of paces away. Though Damian's exterior was as calm as the Dark Knight's, his eyes couldn't hide the nervousness in its depth.

"Yes Damian?" Bruce asked, putting on a small smile for the boy. Absently, he fixed the cowl pooled around his neck with black-gloved hands.

The ten-year-old shifted the weight from his left leg to his right. "You've been staring at the screen for half an hour but haven't done anything. Is everything alright?"

Bruce nodded reassuringly. "Yes, everything's fine. I was just thinking."

"What were you thinking about?" Damian persisted, crossing his arms over his chest. His expression was a cross between curious and 'I-already-know'.

The older of the two ebony-haired males gestured for the younger to follow as he led him to the gym. "It wasn't anything important."

Damian followed after his father, a dry look on his face as he trotted up beside the much taller figure. "Your fight with the imbecile is not important? I thought, as of right now, it would be the most important thing on your list of things-I-need-to-work-on."

Bruce stopped while looking down at his son, donning his own dry expression and placing his hands on his hips. "If you knew what I was thinking about, why did you bother asking me?"

"Alfred said it was polite." Damian answered, looking up and re-crossing his arms over his chest. "And Alfred's word is law."

It had taken the boy a month to figure it out but Damian was finally catching on to the whole 'Alfred-is-the-supreme-ruler' thing they had going on in the Wayne household.

Bruce sighed, rubbing his face before resuming his walk to the gym. Damian silently followed after, waiting to hear something fall from the older's mouth that would answer all his unasked questions.

"I'm just wondering where he is, Damian. He hasn't called me and I don't know where he is. Let me worry." Bruce said, wandering into the gym and flipping on the lights to illuminate the large structure.

"Have you called him?" Damian asked.

"_Yes_."

"Then I would think he's just being a prick again." Damian simply stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Bruce rolled his eyes at the statement while Damian continued. "And though he's an idiot, he does know how to take care of himself. He's fine. He'll probably slip up and do something stupid soon anyways, alerting you to his presence, so you really shouldn't worry."

Bruce shook his head. "Will you ever call him by his name?"

Damian shrugged his shoulders. "I might if stops acting like a child all the time."

"Need I remind you that you, too, are a child? You two should be best friends."

"T-t, I'm _not_ a child. Especially not one as immature as that brain-donor."

"Dami, you're _ten_."

* * *

Danny stared at the ceiling with his arms stretched over his head, blue eyes filled with varying emotions. His lips were turned into a frown while the rest of his body laid sprawled out on the queen-sized bed provided. His muscles were lax and his breathing was steady and calm. Though his eyelids drooped with the need to sleep, the rest of him refused to shut down for the night and rest.

Turning on his side, Danny released a sigh from his mouth. He wanted to sleep so badly but there was so many things keeping him awake: the fight, being in unfamiliar territory, and the wonders of his friends were doing and if they wondered where he was.

It had probably been a stupid idea to go ahead and accept the offer without telling anyone about his proceeding with the plan. A many number of things could go wrong with the simple fact he didn't tell a soul.

Oh well. Not much he could do about it now. It's not like there was cell service how many feet under the ground. The best he could hope for was giving a small signal on his first heist with the other Cloaks.

But then again… Did he really care if anyone knew where he was?

Danny sighed again, sitting up in his bed with his legs dangling over the side. He grunted as he pushed himself onto his feet, running one hand through his hair as he looked around his bare room. Taking a calming breathe, Danny quickly changed into his Phantom outfit, keeping his weapons and belt till lying on the table so he only wore his black outfit. Picking up the wolf mask, he undid the clasps on the inside that joined the wolf's jaw and head together. He took the bottom half of the jaw off, leaving the top half to cover his face as he put it on. He also retracted the white lenses, so people could see his eyes.

Standing in front of the door, Danny transformed so his hair became white and his eyes became green. He threw up his hood before letting the automatic door open and slipping out. Standing in the middle of a long hallway, Danny looked in both directions for anyone before slowly turning to walk down the right side.

The nineteen-year-old's steps were quiet against the tile. He was barefoot so there was nothing to clack against the cool ceramic plates. His body casted a dim, white glow and his eyes were lit with a small green light. Though it made the dark hallway significantly brighter, it wasn't enough for any of the people behind the doors to take notice of.

Danny backtracked what little of the underground complex he had managed to explore. King had decided they'd go through all the formalities in the morning and let everyone get some rest for the time being.

At first, Danny had been suspicious when he entered his assigned room, searching for any cameras that could be watching him. He was amazed to find that there were none. And he had searched in some pretty weird places, just in case.

As he tiptoed through the halls, Danny began wondering if maybe he had gone the wrong way. He felt like he had been walking for too long. It wasn't hard to get lost in the complex, since every wall was bare and looked exactly like all the other ones.

Stopping, the white-haired boy sighed and looked around. Taking a peek over his shoulder, Danny wondered if he would be able to even get back to his room without getting lost. Probably not, he figured if he couldn't even find the one place he was looking for. Feeling frustrated, Danny suppressed the urge to kick the wall beside him. His brain was running through thirty different thoughts in only a couple of seconds and he thought he was going to go completely insane.

The male perked when he heard light footsteps coming from one of the upcoming hallways. Pressing himself against the wall, Danny waited to see who it was before daring to ask for help. Though he honestly didn't want to, the male knew he was going to have to. He was lost within the underground complex and he didn't want to get caught up in something he had no intentions of getting involved in.

A red-cloaked figure turned from the corner, heading down the hallway Danny had contemplated traveling down. The teen assumed it was the ice-chick that he had met before, though he could be wrong about that. He'd spotted at least one other person in a red cloak and the form had been a guy's. For all he knew, the figure walking down the hall could be one of the ones he hadn't met yet.

Danny took a step away from the wall, calling "Hey!"

The red-cloaked person turned sharply to him, quickly assessing his form before relaxing their tense muscles.

The white-haired male recognized the cloaked person as the ice-chick, as predicted. He immediately noticed that she wasn't wearing her full-face mask but just a black one around her arctic blue eyes. He also noticed that whereas before he couldn't tell what her hair color was, now it was framing her face and the strands were blonde. A frown graced the girl's face as she looked him up and down.

"Oh. It's just you." The girl snapped, disdain dripping in her voice. She must've still been really upset he had managed to get the best of her the first time they met.

Danny crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head to the side. "Where's the kitchen? I saw it on the way to my room but, so far, I think I've done a horrible job at backtracking."

The blonde hummed, pleased with the revelation while she smirked. "Well lucky you. I was heading in the same direction."

"And you call that luck? I call that karma." Danny responded, his own smirk gracing his face as he got his 'pain-in-the-butt' on. Mockingly, the white-haired male hummed to himself, pleased.

The female scowled at him before continuing on walking down the hall. "Do you want to find your way or stay lost, scumbag?"

"If I didn't want your help, I wouldn't have asked." Danny responded, following after the girl with light steps. "And scumbag? Is that the best you've got? I know insults that are banned in some countries."

The girl huffed. "You would know."

"Yup." Danny said, catching up to the girl with little effort. He was taller than her by a head. His strides were also longer, allowing him to catch up easily to walk up beside her. It oddly reminded him of how Batman could easily catch up to him without trying. "Now, I never caught your name, Icy. Mind sharing?"

"Why would I share my name with a guy who uses the alias Phantom?" The girl snaps back, glancing at him dryly.

Danny smirked at her. "But my name really is Phantom." The white-haired male easily lied.

"Yeah… Sure…" The blonde said, unbelieving. She rolled her eyes, turning into an open doorframe lacking a door completely. Danny followed her in, taking notice of the small kitchen she had walked into. He had been astounded that the Cloaks running around the complex could do almost anything they wanted when they weren't on a mission. The only requirement was an hour of training every day with the rest of the members.

One could literally eat, sleep, and wander whenever they felt like. The Cloaks were even allowed to head into the nearby town, as long as you brought at least one other person along with you.

"Come on, Blondie. If you don't give me a name, I'll make up the most inappropriate nickname I can and, even if you were to give me your name, it would stick with you for the rest of your life." Danny threatened even though his voice was light and amused.

The blonde raised an eyebrow at the boy, leaving his side and walking around the island in the middle of the room and towards the fridge. "Oh yeah? You don't look that creative, boy."

"Au contraire, Ice Witch." Danny said teasingly. "I can be very creative. Ask any of my few friends, enemies, and any pedestrians that have happened to hear my mouth run. I don't have a filter and whatever happens to pop up in my brain first ends up sticking."

'Ice Witch' rolled her eyes while she opened the fridge, rummaging through the contents inside and deciding on a plain water bottle. "Fine. The name's Crispin."

"Thanks Crispy." Danny said pleasantly, batting his eyes sweetly.

Crispin looked at the boy sharply, anger flashing through her pale blue orbs. "What'd you call me, you scumbag?"

"Crispy!" Danny said loudly, throwing his hands in the air and smiling like a child that didn't know any better. He continued to bat his eyes innocently, like he hadn't made some terrible joke to one of the worst people possible.

"Are you really that immature?" Crispin questioned, bumping the fridge door shut with her hip and standing up against the island side with her water bottle.

"Depends on my mood. As of right now, my mood says yes." Danny answered, leaning on the island with a smirk dancing across his lips and mirth sparking in his eyes. Tilting his head to the side, the nineteen-year-old boy drummed his fingers against the island top.

Crispin glared at the boy heatedly before opening the water-bottle and throwing half the contents onto Danny's face.

Danny yelped and jumped back, noticing the way Crispin smirked smugly while she took a sip from the bottle. The boy wiped some of the water from his face before saying "This will dry."

"Unless it freezes." Crispin commented, the fingers on her right hand crackling with blue while she continued to smirk at him.

Danny just smiled at her. "Please do so I may phase it off, Witch."

The smirk was instantly wiped off the blonde's face, easily replaced with an unhappy scowl as she stared into the taller boy's laughing, green eyes. His smirk had yet to stray from his face and the mirth dancing in his eyes continued on steadily with no signs of slowing in any way.

Danny clicked his tongue. "You'll eventually learn that I almost never lose a fight, sarcastic or otherwise."

Crispin looked at him with a hint of devious curiosity. "Almost never? Does little ole Phantom lose to someone periodically?"

"That would be a yes." Danny answered, his expression still the same as ever. Would it ever change? "There are only three people who can beat me in a contest such as this one: my girly friend that will literally kick my butt to Mexico, my guy friend that will send a robot to kick my butt to Mexico, and the only paternal figure I've ever had that will also kick my can to Mexico."

Crispin looked him up and down with a dry expression, wondering how this boy could have any sort of parental figure willing to stay with him longer than half an hour. "I would hate to be your mother, boy."

Danny smiled, flashing his pearly white teeth. "And I'm sure he despises trying to be my father a good portion of the time. But at least he tries, right?"

"What do you mean, 'tries'?" The ice wielder asked, looking at the boy in front of her with a confused and curious expression on her features.

Danny shrugged nonchalantly, though on the inside he knew he should probably _shut up_ right about then. Of course, his mouth had other plans to attend to. "He's not biological. Hasn't even been around for most of my life. But who cares? Someone was going to try to take the job anyways. Might as well be him, right?"

"Your relationship sounds wonderful." Crispin stated sarcastically, shaking her head and rolling her eyes at Danny.

The white-haired boy laughed because her statement was so the opposite. "Oh no, it's horrible. We fight a lot and the foundation of our relationship seems to be made of sarcasm. Ironically enough, we just had another fight and have yet to make up, if we don't decide to just drop the entire argument altogether to die a lonely death."

"Oh yeah and what'd you do to start the fight?" Crispin asked, not even needing to know Danny all that well to know it was most likely something he said or did that started the entire thing.

Danny tried to remember back to the beginning of the fight and shrugged. Even though the conversation couldn't get any more somber, he was still smiling through the small pricking at his heart. "I think it was because I lied again. And stole something. And lied again. It didn't start out as a legit fight… But something I said lit a fuse and it all kinda went downhill from there. I'm twenty percent sure he doesn't even know I'm here."

"Only twenty?" Crispin asked confused, rubbing her temple. She had tried to imagine such a dismembered relationship and it hurt to think about it.

Danny hummed pleasantly, still grinning brightly. "Yeah~. He tends to have a way of knowing where I am at all times. And if he doesn't, he tracks me down. It's seriously irritating most of the time since it means I can't do most of the things I want to do. Like steal."

"Ok, I'm confused." Crispin said, stopping the boy from continuing on with ranting. "You're a full-fledged crook and he sounds like a good guy. How does that work?"

Danny let out a small laugh, ignoring the small pain in his chest at shooing away such a major problem he didn't have the strength to fix. "As you've heard, it doesn't."

* * *

**Crispy and Danny will _NOT_ have any romantic relations (ew). I don't even think they'll be mutual friends by the end of this story. Danny just has a way of not shutting up when he needs to. *thumbs up* :D**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following: _Popcornbubbles77, Draconis Ignitus._**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following me: _Sin - NaMe, HowlingWerewolf13._**

**Reviews:**

**KuriMaster13: No but I don't get mad often. So I'm good. :D Hm. Danny should try that next time.**

**Roselin: Aw, glad to hear you enjoyed! Yeah, Batsy took a couple blows as well. They'll be fine... Maybe.**

**KainVixenheim: Wonderful. :D And glad to hear bout the date thing.**

**Guest of Honor: Oh, is it ever that easy though? *crazy grin***

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Aw, glad to hear! So happy you're enjoying! :D**

**Oblitus Angeli: Hm, that could've happened, couldn't it? Glad he didn't shoot a plane. XD Not much to his appearance than what I already said but whatever. XD Eh, I don't know where it is anymore. It was a picture of Danny playing video games or something in the dark. Something about his expression...**

**Dani: I think everyone does that but I could be wrong. *shrugs* And who _would_ like King?**

**BoyDragon1: XD Ha, the Vampire-Wannabe might show up later. We'll have to see.**

**IWasNeverReal: Nahhhh, he's all good... (I lie.)**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: Poor both of them, it seems... If only they both weren't emotionally constipated, right?**

**Poohbearmorris: It's alright~! I don't mind~! :D Are you kidding me? That's perfect swimming weather!**

**Phantom Heir Daughter of Zeus: Really? ...interesting... XD**

**SweetyKinz: I made Sam go through Ritz withdrawl cause why not? XD They're in Las Vegas, dude! And I understand why the pools do that but it's too hard to explain. XD I KNOW YOU'RE HUNGRY ALL THE TIME.**

**Pegasus Sword Pegasus: Yup. Power of Danny/Batman arguments right there at full shine...**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: XD Whoops! Sorry! But glad you're enjoying!**


	12. Rivalries and Searches

Ch.12: Rivalries and Searches

Danny stood in the middle of a giant throne-room, green eyes hiding behind white lenses lazily looking all around in a bored manner with his full outfit on. His arms were crossed over his chest and his head drifted up, down, left, right, and all around. King was staring him down, as if expecting some sort of awe to come from him. The white-haired boy thought it was hilarious, since he certainly wasn't feeling impressed at all.

The Bat-Cave was way cooler. And had more pretty toys.

After looking everything over, Danny turned his eyes towards the older masked figure and shrugged his shoulders. "So what do I do now? I'm pretty sure I never got the program when we got here."

King rolled his eyes at the sarcasm dripping in the green-eyed boy's voice. With light steps, the white-cloaked figure walked down the steps leading to his throne platform. He was silent, preferring to get on the same level as the younger male before revealing what the plan was going to be.

Danny tapped his foot impatiently, glancing around the room again and wondering why villains weren't as creative with their bases as heroes were. It certainly wasn't because they had a lack of cash. The white-haired male surmised it was probably just a lack of creative brain cells.

King stepped onto the tiled floor of the throne-room, making a small and barely audible _clack _with his boot. Clasping his hands behind his back, King stood straight with his head held high on his shoulders. As always, his blue-grey eyes revealed how calm he was, tranquil as an untouched forest filled with wildlife.

"Now that you're part of the circle, you're going to be assigned to one of the fifteen groups the Cloaks have." King started, voice low.

Danny gave him a thumbs up. "Great idea! After shooting your lackeys and giving one of them an obnoxious nickname, you decide to put me in a group! I'm pretty sure you've seen my track record on working with other people-" Danny laughed at himself. "-and it is horrible! Yes! You, Sir, are a genius! Someone should give you a prize!"

King glared at the younger, not amused in the least while Danny continued to laugh at his face. Green eyes sparkled deviously behind his mask. The laughter falling from his mouth showed how perfectly capable he was at holding his own against a control-freak.

"Do you want to stay here?" King questioned, not caring how much of an asset the boy could be if he just listened and went along with what he told him. King didn't care if the boy didn't respect him. He just needed to listen. The older man had known of the younger's free spirit before but he didn't think it was quite this bad.

Danny hummed teasingly, shifting his weight back and forth like a pendulum. With light steps, he began walking around the throne-room with no clear destination in mind. "Hm~. I don't know, Princess. I think your head might be a little too big for your tiara for my tastes."

King glared deeper at the boy, barely suppressing a growl while Danny cackled, dancing around a little in victory. However, the white-haired boy could see that King wasn't thrilled with the idea of letting him go just yet. Might as well lead him on a bit and pull his leg, though he couldn't go completely overboard with it. Danny was needed to dig up secrets, of course.

"Will you just listen to the plan that I have in store for you? It's the same thing all the rest of the Cloaks have gone through." King stated, watching as Danny gave a nod after a minute. The boy continued to walk in circles though. "And sit still!"

Dang, King was more of a tightwad than Batman. And that was saying something.

"No." Danny said sassily, shaking his head at the older. Danny waved his hand around in the air, continuing to step lightly in figure eights and ovals. "You may continue with whatever you were talking about but I'm still going to walk around. Even if it looks like I'm not listening, I am. It ticks people off all the time."

King let out a good, long sigh before calming himself down. "Alright. I'm going to put you with a group. For awhile, you will simply be a Jade Cloak. Understand?"

"What's a Jade Cloak?" Danny asked, boredom creeping into his voice. At another one of King's 'are-you-kidding-me' sighs, Danny waved his hand around again. "Oh, calm down. I just got here. If you expect me to have this entire Cloak thing down pat after no one's said a word to me, you would be mistaken, Princess."

"_Stop calling me that_."

"Ok, Tightwad."

King exhaled and inhaled, exhaled and inhaled, exhaled and inhaled… This boy was seriously starting to tick him off. "I will get Crispin to explain all the ranks we have, which is very few. If you manage to screw them up somehow, you will have set a Cloak record for being the biggest idiot we have come across."

Danny cackled, tiptoeing along the cracks in the tile floor under him. "I might just try since you set such high standards for me."

"Of course you will…" King drawled, rolling his eyes. "Back to the point. I want to test your skills with the group I assign you and see if you are a good candidate for the rank I want to put you in. However, if you test negative, you will remain a Jade Cloak with the option to leave. If you test positive-"

"Then I get busted for smoking meth, right?" Danny teasingly cut off, casting a glance over to the older man with his sparkling eyes, though he wished the other could see it. Seeing as King was not amused with his comment, Danny laughed but didn't say anything more. Carefully, the white-haired boy continued to tiptoe along the lines between each tile.

"If you do a good job, you will be raised through the ranks until you come to stand beside me, understand?" King questioned, finishing his monologue with his steadfast glare. The loathing look had stayed on his face ever since Danny had called him 'Princess'. He was not a happy person.

The nineteen-year-old hummed his understanding, nodding his head with his back towards King, still walking along the lines under him. "So which group do you plan on pairing with little ole me? I bet they'll be _thrilled_ to hear about their new member. I'm just a bundle of joy that way."

"Do you _ever_ shut up?" King snapped.

Danny laughed and danced again. "Haha, nope! I'm a chatterbox! My mouth just keeps running and running and running and running and running and running and running and running and running-"

"I understand." King seethed, rolling his eyes again. He was starting to regret his decision. However, the hopeful part of his mind said to just give the tiring boy a little time. His newest underling would eventually come around and see that talking nonstop was not a favorable idea. Just a little time, he told himself.

Danny cackled again, a devious look overtaking his face as he followed the lines criss-crossing around the room.

"As for your group, I was just going to put you with Crispin's since you two know each other. I've also assigned her to be your guide until you can walk around the complex without getting lost." King informed curtly.

Danny hummed again, a mellow tune to his voice. "I don't know about that, Princess~. Crispy and I don't get along all that well. The Ice Witch and I had a fighting match last night before we went to bed. And I have to say, she sure has a loud voice when she wants it."

"You'll be fine." King stated, making sure his voice had the 'final-word' tone to it. "I will call in Crispin to take you to training. You've already missed half of it irritating me. Go wait in the hall for her."

Danny cackled to himself while walking along the lines leading to the door on the other side of the room. The white-haired boy took his sweet, precious time, knowing it will only further the older's irritation and make his image look worse than it already was. Nothing was more fun than making sure everyone knew how insufferable he was.

The nineteen-year-old slipped through the door and stood in the middle of the hall. Looking in both directions, the boy saw no one. Sighing, Danny was quickly enveloped in boredom. Leaning against the wall, the male waited for his guide to show up, explain the whole cloak-rank business, and lead him to the gym. Oh, all the things he could say to her on the way there…

Much to Danny's intense joy, the blonde showed up within a few minutes with the narrow mask covering the skin around her eyes. Her hair was also still down, blonde strands hanging beside her face, a frown on her lips. However, the rest of the outfit was the same as the first night Danny came into contact with her and the rest of her team. He wondered about the names of the other Cloaks belonging to the Ice Witch's group, fully prepared to make up degrading names as he had done with the girl in front of him.

Danny smirked and put his hands on his hips as she stopped in front of him, crossing her arms over her chest, frown still prominent in her features. Her arctic blue eyes were not amused at all with the taller male.

Was everyone a tightwad in this complex or were they just having an off-week?

"I see you're thrilled to be guiding me, Crispy." Danny said pleasantly in greeting, tilting his head to the side mockingly.

"Yeah… Thrilled is the word…" Crispin muttered under her breath. With a small shake of her head, she turned on her heel and began walking down the hall she had ventured up. "Let's go, Nuisance. We still have thirty minutes of training left. I do hope you're not a wimp."

Danny laughed and followed after, eyes dancing behind his mask. "Ha, yeah no… You know that father figure I talked about before we began yelling at each other off last night? He trains me and trains me hard. I do hope it's not me that's the wimp here."

Crispin muttered something under her breath and Danny was almost tempted to ask her to say it louder, knowing it couldn't be anything good.

Danny pestered the shorter girl all the way to the gym doors. Crispin tried to keep her cool but found it was nearly impossible with the certain chatterbox by her side. The blonde tried not to scream or yell but the male's mouth just wouldn't _stop_.

Praising the Lord as she opened the gym doors, Crispin walked in without holding it open for Danny. The door started shutting behind the girl, closing in Danny's face. The male, cackling wildly, caught the door before it closed completely and slipped in after his guide.

Inside the doors, the first word Danny could think of while looking around the room was 'chaos'. Dozens and dozens of Cloaks were spread around the room, doing all sorts of things. Some were working on gymnastic maneuvers; others were sparring; a couple of the tougher looking ones were lifting weights; and even more were sprinting along the walls, trying to break their own personal speed records.

Crispin was stalking towards what Danny assumed was her group of Cloaks she ruled. They were working on their hand-to-hand combat. The four green-cloaked figures were paired and told to face their partner off. The blue-cloaked male with the same black mask around his eyes as Crispin's watched the four figures duke it out, a lax stance taken by the sidelines as he watched.

Danny stopped at the edge of the sparring mats, quietly noticing how Crispin walked up to the blue-cloaked boy and whispered some words to him. He nodded while she walked to a door off to the side of the training room. Crispin opened the door, walking in and rummaging around inside for something.

The blue-cloaked male walked around the mat to stand beside Danny. The white-haired boy looked at him expectantly, drawling a "Yes~?"

"Welcome to the Beta Team, Phantom. I'm the Sapphire Cloak of this team. I'm Rider." The male said curtly.

"I do hope you're aware I know nothing of these ranks you've got going on. Crispy was supposed to tell me." Danny said, gesturing to where the girl had disappeared through the mysterious door.

Rider nodded, apparently knowing all of this beforehand. "I'm aware. Crispin told me to bring you up to speed real quick. The ranks are really simple. There are fifteen small groups among the Cloaks. We're the Betas. Every group has a Crimson Cloak. In this case, Crispin is our Crimson Cloak. She leads the team. Next, her lieutenant is the Sapphire Cloak, which would be me. And lastly, we have the Jade Cloaks." Rider explained, gesturing to the sparring figures. "They're the soldiers, the man-power. As of right now, I hear you've been assigned to be a Jade Cloak until you move up the ranks."

Danny frowned at that. Him? A plain soldier? Oh no, that would not do. Frankly, Crimson Cloak didn't even sound all that appealing to him. What was the special rank that King had hinted at earlier on?

"This is ridiculous." Danny stated, scowling as he watched Crispin leave the room she had wandered into. Draped over her arm was a green cloak just for him. He could see a smirk appearing on the girl's face as she walked over, knowing her second-in-command had taken care of what she asked and knowing the white-haired boy knew was going to have to listen to her since she was, technically, his superior.

But if she thought Danny was going to listen to her like a little lapdog, she was in for a big surprise then. Danny didn't _do_ orders.

"Here you go." Crispin said sweetly as she waltzed up to him, holding out the cloak for him with an innocent smile while she batted her arctic eyes at him.

Danny just stared at her. He didn't move an inch. Rider nudged him to see if he was ok.

Crispin awed at him, knowing the real reason behind Danny's sudden frozen stance and silence. "Aw, does Phantom not want to put on the pretty cloak?"

Danny snatched the cloak from the girl's hands, making her smirk wider. He threw it around his shoulders and clasped it in the front, glaring at his 'superior'. Once it was on, he threateningly leaned close to her. Crispin tried to take a step back but the male grabbed her arm in a tight grip. The two glared at each other heatedly. Rider made a small move to break it up but Crispin gestured for him to stay in his spot.

"I may be below you now." Danny hissed in quiet whisper, tightening his grip on her arm. The blonde didn't wince or flinch away though. "But just remember, I'm here for a rank you apparently can't fill. I will climb the ranks faster than you can blink and the next thing you know, you'll be working for me, understand?"

The blonde didn't back down from the threat. "Keep your immature act up and you won't get any farther than where you are now. And I don't think you have any capabilities of being serious, do you? No, you're either laughing or you're angry. Have fun climbing, Lackey."

Danny hummed, sending gooseflesh down the girl's arms. "Who says I'm not serious, Witch?"

With that, the white-haired boy released Crispin's arm and began stalking on the outside of the sparring ring, watching the fists that were flying and spinning kicks that were being performed with a scrutinizing gaze behind his snarling wolf mask.

Crispin watched him with narrowed eyes, rubbing her bruised arm absently. Rider was instantly beside her once Danny was gone, asking about her state and if the green-eyed boy needed to be reprimanded.

"Don't bother." Crispin waved off, frowning at the taller boy's figure. "It's not like it'll make any difference. He's not scared of punishment. He'll just keep doing whatever he pleases."

"Something needs to be done." Rider insisted.

Crispin looked at him seriously. "There's nothing that _can_ be done. King's right; he would make a good Shadow Cloak."

* * *

Batman drummed his fingers against the console in front of him, thinking deeply about who to call next. So far, every contact he had had no idea where Danny had run off to. Not even Sam and Tucker had a clue; they had just assumed he was finally accepted into the Cloaks and wasn't able to contact them.

It had only been a day, they assured. Danny would pop up soon, like always.

The Dark Knight wasn't so sure about that. Danny would've, at least, talked to his friends if he could. Maybe his suspicions had been right; Danny had finally managed to infiltrate the Cloaks. Batman had assumed beforehand that the boy wouldn't be able to contact him once he was inside. That was fine. But how would they know for sure? For all he knew, Danny was actually dead in a ditch.

Batman half-wished he had someone else to look over the case with. But no, he had sent Robin off with Nightwing to patrol for the night and Red Robin was off on the other side of the world with the Teen Titans, stopping one of their villain's evil plots. And the Lord alone knew where Red Hood was, traveling the world and taking down his own foes with Starfire and Arsenal. Even if he could find Jason, it's not like he'd help out. He had other pressing matters to attend to.

Robin and Nightwing would be back within a few hours and then they might help out if they wanted but that was still a few hours Batman had to himself, to try and figure things out by himself.

The Dark Knight hoped Danny was either just plain ignoring him or in a situation where he couldn't contact him. Nothing was more nerve-racking than simply not knowing.

* * *

**Well... This chapter may be a little subdued but I went overboard with the next one so be prepared for double this chapter.**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following: _DrPotatoes, Gryphonsson, Wilkman3._**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following me: _FireFoxGirl14._**

**Reviews:**

**Eirena Gaia: Ha, we'll see what Danny does. He's unpredictable. XD And Danny's ice powers were replaced with his nightmare powers, remember?**

**Guest of Honor: Dami is, technically, a minor. He may believe whatever fantasies he enjoys. I will not restrain him.**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: XD Yes she does~! We will see prime example of this in ch.13~! **

**Roselin: Yuppers! Eh, Bruce is Bruce, the emotionally constipated hero. What can we do about it? XD**

**BoyDragon1: Ha! Sweet! **

**Pegasus Sword Master: Glad you liked that part! It was fun to write. And something tells me Bats and Danny will be just fine. ;)**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: Of, definitely. They either feel too little or too much. There's no balance. :D OH MY GOSH, The irony of that statement to a future one I already is hilarious! XD**

**Dani: Yeah, Crispin is supposed to be like that. Glad I got that point across. XD**

**KainVixenheim: Yeah, I noticed that a _long time ago._ XD And thanks! You can also call her Ice Witch if you want. :D Exactly! Who would expect Phantom to find a father figure in the most stoic figure ever? Especially since he's good.**

**16ckelman: Not a bad idea, my friend. Not a bad idea at all... There will be many fights. Woo~!**

**Phantom Heir Daughter of Zeus: I thought I mentioned that in Dark-Net... Oh well. XD I think I didn't say it outright but it was implied it started with the hacking drive and Danny's lying before turning into a huge fight that didn't even make much sense. *shrugs* It happens.**

**Expergiscimini: ...but...aren't you following it? XD**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: XD Awww, thanks so much! I'm-a so happy to hear! No! Not the caps lock!**

**Ninuhuju: ...you, my friend, do need the weekend. Badly. That is torture right there. Oh, they'll probably do that anyways. Or some life-or-death peril will show and they'll make up quickly. I haven't decided.**

**Oblitus Angeli: XD Glad you appreciate the nickname... I don't know who Allen is, sorry. XD The Dark-Net question will be answered soon. Yes, it was Phantom form. XD What did you see?**

**Poohbearmorris: It's alright! Calm down! :D Oh, they'll probably be just fine. **

**KuriMaster13: ...sorry Clockwork for forgetting about you! XD**


	13. Signals

Ch.13: Signals

Bruce's black-gloved fingers continued to drum again the keys on his keyboard, typing madly for any signs of the ebony-haired youth he'd come to know as the biggest pain in the butt he'd ever known. His eyelids were drooped over his blue orbs. If he had been anyone else, they wouldn't have been able to keep them any longer through sheer willpower alone. Anyone else would've needed every caffeinated drink and sugary food the world had to offer to stay awake any longer.

Damian, in full Robin attire but lacking his domino mask, was sitting a ways from his father, slowly typing on his own laptop. The ten-year-old was very close to passing out but refused to acknowledge his own weakness until he was out like a light, as was the Bat Way taught to all the Bat-Kids by the leader of the clan.

The Dynamic Duo was searching for the lost nineteen-year-old that had been missing for about two weeks. It was strange to hear nothing from him in such a long spam of time. Sam and Tucker were also simultaneously unaware of their good friend's whereabouts. Every day, it looked more and more like Danny had proceeded with the plan to join the Cloaks.

That or he was dead, most likely from alcohol poisoning if his record had anything to say about it and what had transpired the last time he and Batman had been together. A close second would be being shot by a cop during a standoff after he did something less than legal. However, no bodies resembling Danny had been reported anywhere so the Dark Knight was keeping his hopes up, if only a little.

Bruce glanced at his son from the corner of his eyes. He was almost tempted to order the younger to go to bed, though he knew it was a fruitless task. Bruce had tried a dozen times in the last couple of hours to get the young boy to sleep but Damian was firm in his decision to hunt until he either found the older nuisance or until he passed out. The ten-year-old was determined to find Danny, one way or another.

At first, Bruce had been confused by the boy's sudden willingness to help out with the search. For a good week and a half, he would go and join Nightwing on patrol, as the oldest Bat-Kid was one of the few people that Bruce willingly entrusted Gotham to when he had more pressing matters or was unable to be out in the field himself. Robin and Nightwing got along fine most of the time, though they had their moments where they rubbed each other the wrong way and caused friction. That wasn't the case this time though. Damian didn't have a problem with his predecessor, as of the moment.

No, Damian was helping because he genuinely wanted to find Danny, though he would never admit it aloud. He may not like Danny, not even a little bit, but he did realize that the older boy made things much more interesting in the very least. He also realized that Danny, if he ever calmed his immature tendencies, could teach him a few things about hacking and computer equipment that he didn't have yet.

Though he knew it was completely useless to do so, Bruce sighed in tiredness before saying "Damian, maybe you should go on up to bed. It's been three days since you've gotten out from behind the laptop."

"And you have barely gotten out behind yours for, at least, five. Your point is invalid." Damian replied curtly, casting a mild evil eye at the older ebony-haired hero. "Besides, how will the infuriating prick be found if no one's searching?"

"I'm searching." Bruce said, an offended tone to his voice. Looking at Damian, he gave him a 'what-am-I?-chopped-liver?' look while the boy's eyes were on his. Damian just kind of shrugged at him, not taking the words back but almost saying sorry in his own little way that wouldn't make much sense to anybody else.

Alfred sighed as he approached the two, holding a tray with two steaming cups of tea on top. Placing the tray on the desk in-between Bruce and Damian, the butler said "You both should be in bed. Master Daniel will not be found with the way you two are pushing yourselves, as thoughtful as it is. Now would you please do as I ask before I have to start using drastic measures?"

Damian and Bruce shared a look out of the corner of their eyes before looking at Alfred with matching 'bring-it-on' looks. The grey-haired man sighed before resigning himself to the measures he was surely going to have to take to get his two wards to their beds for some much needed rest.

Alfred gave a curt goodbye before shuffling off to the manor sitting on top of the dreary cave. Bruce and Damian watched him leave silently and waited till Alfred was completely gone before they turned back to their work. Bruce quietly reached out for one of the dual cups sitting on the metal tray Alfred had left and brought it to his lips. Before he could take a sip, he pulled it away and looked at it suspiciously.

Damian paused in his work again to look at his father staring at the cup. If he were anybody outside the strange family, he would've thought the sleep deprivation was simply going to the Dark Knight's head and making him delirious. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Damian asked "Do you think he laced it with sleeping medication?"

Bruce set the mug back on the tray, grimacing. "There is no doubt in my mind that he did. I'll go pour it out and get us some water. If you want to, keep working. But if you're not up for it, go up to bed and get some rest so Alfred might be appeased."

Damian nodded his recognition, turning back to his work while Bruce got up. The billionaire noticed how his son made no move to get up and resigned himself to the fact the kid might be turning into a mini-him. This did not please him, however, and he told himself he'd get better about his sleeping/eating habits after they found Danny so the bad habits wouldn't be passed off to the younger (or, at least, that's what he told himself he'd do).

After pouring out the tainted liquids in the bathroom, Bruce washed them out before putting plain tap water in them. Sure, it tasted disgusting and had no chemicals to keep them awake, just kill them, but it would suffice for the time being. Bruce would get a pack of soda for Damian and a couple pots of coffee for himself later. For now, he had work to do.

As the two began working into the early morning, Bruce and Damian absently sipped on the foul-tasting tap water while they tapped on the computer, taking small gulps to avoid getting sick from the chemicals lingering in them from the Gotham Water Systems. Alfred popped up occasionally. Sometimes he'd say something about their annoying habit while others he simply sighed and left, leaving all sorts of drugged treats to get the two to rest for a couple of hours.

Sometime around two in the morning, Bruce finally got himself the caffeinated drinks he had promised to get hours earlier. Setting the 24-pack of Coke beside the ten-year-old, Bruce watched Damian make a grab for one, crack it open, and down three fourths of it within a few seconds. He didn't reprimand the younger boy because he'd done the same thing to his coffee.

Before Bruce could get back to his work, an alert appeared on the Dark Knight's screen. He had them set up for news on any of his dysfunctional family and Arkham updates. Recently, he had put them up for any news regarding the Cloaks heists. So far, none of them had even mildly pointed to Danny's disappearance, though Bruce continued to watch them closely anyhow. It wouldn't hurt.

Damian perked the instant the alert sounded, having come to know that the bell-sound could give a clue to the mystery he and his father were currently trying to unravel. The ten-year-old put his laptop on the desk beside him before getting up and walking up beside Bruce, downing the rest of his first can of soda. It would surely not be his last either…

Bruce opened the alert, watching as a bunch of footage from a news station that only aired in another state entirely popped up. A pretty reporter was going on about the newest scheme of the Cloaks, informing the viewers that the masked figures had stormed the local town's bank. It had still been open, only a little while till closing, when one of the members had rushed in, quickly taking the few pedestrians in the bank hostage with a semi-automatic shotgun. Quickly following the green-cloaked boy, the rest of the team had swept through, taken as much cash as they could get their hands on, and left.

The brunette reporter went on to say how eye-witnesses told the authorities that they saw the green-cloaked figure fighting with the red-cloaked leader about the boy's (everyone assumed the figure was a boy because of his voice) timing and 'movie qoutes'. However, the boy hadn't been concerned at all by the authorities that could appear at any minute and the few witnesses they would leave within a couple of minutes.

As they listened to the report, Bruce and Damian began smirking at the screen. At the end, Bruce held out his hand to the boy standing by his side and felt a resounding high-five come from it, a small _slap_ resounding through the cave.

All worries that the missing ebony-haired boy was lying dead somewhere were dispelled within an instant. Danny had managed to infiltrate the Cloaks successfully, join their ranks, and had managed to give a small signal for his hero friends to alert them to his whereabouts, though it could potentially get him in trouble with his targets. However, Bruce trusted Danny knew what he was doing, since this was his role he was playing out.

"Alright Dami," Bruce started, reaching out to shut down the computer. "Our mystery had been solved. We can now rest easy."

Damian gave a small, tired smile at being able to sleep without wondering about a missing person. He copied his father's actions and shut his laptop down before trudging up beside Bruce. Together, the two began the perilous journey up the stairs to the manor so they could fall dead asleep into their beds.

The ten-year-old didn't even make it to his room. He crashed in Bruce's because his was just _too far away_ for his borderline brain-dead mind to handle. Bruce would've shooed him away but he was too tired to fight and didn't have the mental strength to plainly say no.

The only one happy with the arrangement was Alfred. His two wards were finally asleep and, with the way they both collapsed in Bruce's room, it meant one less bed for him to make in the morning.

* * *

Danny fixed his collar after zipping up the front of his suit, looking at himself in the full-body mirror hanging on the wall in his room. His black suit almost made him blend into the dark room around him, if it weren't for the fact his body glowed white and his eyes were sparking green.

After fixing his suit around his body comfortably for a skin-tight outfit, Danny began fixing his belt around his waist. Once the strip of leather filled with a few tools was set firmly around his hips, Danny went on to fix the holster for his AA-12 on his back and across his chest before putting the shotgun into it, securing the weapon tightly in so he wouldn't have to worry about it falling out.

Hesitantly, Danny picked up the 'welcome aboard' gift Crispin had given to him in the presence of the rest of the Beta Team and King earlier in the day.

The gift was a pistol, a Glock 17 Gen 4. It was supposed to be used as a backup weapon, of sorts. All new Cloak members received the same pistol when they were recruited, as well as their own choice gun that they preferred and would use as their primary weapon. However, since Danny already had an AA-12, they only had to give him the Glock to complete the set.

It really was a fine weapon. It molded nicely to his hand and he found it was easy to use in combat, having tried it out during one of the training sessions. He had gotten in a load of trouble for the little stunt but it sure was helpful to know the pros and cons of a weapon he was going to use out in the field.

After admiring the weapon for a few seconds, Danny strapped it onto his thigh before picking up the green cloak he had been given within the first day of staying at the base and the faceless, full-face, black mask he had been given just hours earlier.

Danny glared at the offending cloth and the revolting piece of plastic in his hands with unhappy green eyes. A frown was settled on his lips while he took in the loathsome sight. Nothing was more frustrating than having to wear his humiliating rank for all to see and not even have a chance to show who he was under his mask. Once he climbed the ranks, he was sure to go back to his snarling wolf mask hanging on the wall, glaring at him with white lenses while silently growling at the boy.

Danny sighed irritably before setting the mask down and draping the cloak over his shoulders, clasping it on tightly so it wouldn't be too much of a bother out in the field. Then he picked up the plain mask and slipped it over his face, becoming nothing more than a nameless soldier for an army of convicts that didn't care if he was lost in the heat of battle.

Standing in front of the mirror and staring intensely at the reflection he wished wasn't his, Danny felt the intense desire to go home and leave the Cloaks behind altogether. It wasn't the first time he felt the need to go back to the place he loved where the people he loved were. If it weren't for the green cloak around his shoulders and the black mask across his face, Danny wouldn't feel the burning need to go back to a place he felt he belonged as the loudest airhead known to man. Here, they wanted to suppress everything that made the white-haired male himself.

Danny knew people wouldn't feel the need to calm his wild personality once he climbed to a higher rank. It was just that, right now, he was technically supposed to be a silent lackey that did what he was told. However, his personality demanded the exact opposite of everyone's reactions. Crispin was always scolding him on his loud mouth, telling him if he continued with his immature act that he'd never make it Shadow Cloak, the role he was apparently well-suited for.

So what did Danny do to retaliate? Be even more loud and obnoxious than usual.

Though he knew King desired a second-in-command, he unsure of how long the older man would put up with his crazy antics. It had been two weeks and he hadn't been thrown out yet. That could only mean one of two things: King possessed the patience only Batman had ever showed when dealing with him or he was close to blowing up and getting rid of the white-haired boy completely, regardless if he lost an asset or not.

Danny was willing to bet it was the latter of the two options that was more likely to be true.

If only they would bump him up a rank or two so he could get some respect... Then he wouldn't feel the compelling need to express himself so vividly. Once he had gained a new, higher rank, Danny's need for attention would subside because he would be leader. However, no one seemed to understand the nineteen-year-old's personality like Sam, Tucker, and Batman did.

All the constant reprimanding and scolding tones was a huge damper on his mood as well. It took all the fun out of his mission and stopped all excitement for the heist he was about to go on tonight. And he loved stealing with a passion! It took some serious skill to kill his mood so completely and entirely. What he wouldn't give to have Clockwork fast-forward time so he could skip all the useless torture he was receiving from the Cloaks.

The biggest pain was knowing _they_ knew he could fill the Shadow Cloak role easily. They had seen him train and he did pretty good, given the brutal smack-downs Batman had forced him to do beforehand. He had also gotten mixed up with another team one time and managed to make them believe that he was a Crimson Cloak for another team, demanding that they listen to him and listen well. It was only after they had gone that they found out he was a Jade Cloak.

...Danny really hated people sometimes.

Looking away from the mirror, Danny walked towards his door while flipping his green hood over his white hair. With one black-gloved hand, Danny opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

Thankfully, his sharp mind had memorized the building after being allowed to take a peek at the schematics. People got tired of him getting lost after the first few days, even though the map he was given should've help.

But no, Danny had to look at full-sized blueprints to learn his way around.

What the others didn't know was that he was perfectly capable of using a map. He just hadn't bothered, trying to learn the full scale of the structure he was staying in. After being shown the blueprints one time and was allowed to spend a few minutes studying it, Danny had been able to go back to his room and map the entire thing out on a single sheet of paper. It had been more of a rough draft of what he had seen but he was sure he could do a better sketch of the place with a big piece of blue paper whenever he got one.

Walking down the hall, Danny felt the other four Jade Cloaks exiting their room and traveling to the meeting spot with him.

That irritated him a lot too. Everyone knew he had been put in the Jade Cloaks' quarters the first night he was there and he had been oblivious to his rank placement until the next day.

Danny felt resentment creep up in his bones, installing in him a hatred for the figures walking calmly behind him. He would prefer to walk far behind them or far ahead of them so he wouldn't be so close. He wouldn't be immediately linked with them either, which would only help his cause at trying to gain the respect of others.

The white-haired teen knew those kinds of feelings weren't fair though. The four Jade Cloaks he had come to come know as the Beta Team were pretty cool, much cooler than Crispin and Rider and much more laid back as well. If it weren't for the fact he wasn't creating any emotional ties to anyone, Danny would have tried to become their friends in any other case.

The first he had come to know was Gabriel, or Gabe. He was an African American with black dread-locks. He could easily pass for Tucker's brother if he really tried. Gabe, as far as Danny could tell, was easy-going and didn't seem to mind anything that went on, just letting 'the flow' take him where it desired.

The next was Ezra. The boy was a tan Caucasian with dirty blonde hair and vivid green eyes. Ezra loved to goof around and be his own person but didn't enjoy fighting, so he usually was quick to listen to whatever Crispin told him to do. His train of thought was 'the faster I get it done, the faster I'm free'.

The last male on the team was Milo. Danny had never met someone his age so hyperactive. He was always running around and bouncing off the walls. His stringy black hair was always getting in his face and his brown eyes, though it never seemed to annoy him.

The last person Danny had met of Jade Cloaks was a girl named Kai. Danny wasn't quite sure why the brunette with hazel eyes was part of the Cloaks. As far as he could tell, she would be much happier being an artist, always getting lost in her thoughts, smiling, and laughing with her friends.

All in all, the Beta Team was made up of some cool folks that didn't even mind the green-eyed newcomer had bested them all within the first training session. Danny wondered why it always seemed the ones that would lead the best were always the last to be thought of for the job.

As Danny approached two double doors that led to the garage, he rammed into the first one and slipped through. He didn't wait for the others, letting the door start to close behind him. The others caught it quickly though, slipping through and chatting in low whispers Danny didn't want to be a part of. His scowl was still set on his face and his eyes, revealed by the holes in his mask, were gleaming dangerously.

The nineteen-year-old was still upset that someone could take the joy out of a good heist. He was going to have to fix that.

Danny stopped a ways from where Crispin and Rider were waiting, donning their own, plain masks and glancing over their team to make sure everyone was there. They nodded, gesturing for everyone to hop into the van behind them. The two higher ranked youths jumped into the front seat with Rider driving and Crispin sitting in the passenger seat.

As he watched them get in and tried to suppress the flow of sarcasm that threatened to spill from his mouth, Danny forced himself to smile while he followed the other Jade Cloaks into the back. On one side, the white-haired boy sat with Kai and Ezra. Across from the three, Milo and Gabe stared back with calm eyes.

Danny had never seen the four of them so calm. One of them was usually going off into a wild story or cracking an inappropriate joke. Sometimes they managed to make Crispin and Rider laugh but, most of the time, the two higher ranked youths didn't really want to acquaint themselves with their team. It was seriously the most frustrating thing ever.

The entire drive was quiet. Everyone was left to their own thoughts, wandering things and going off into wild thought-trains. Danny watched all of it with a scrutinizing gaze, wondering again how these usually upbeat people could be so quiet. Heck, the only thing Milo was doing was bobbing his leg!

Sighing, Danny tried to get lost in his own thoughts. He found it would be much easier if he had a computer to multitask but no, he wasn't allowed to have one. The only time he was allowed to use a console was when someone, usually Crispin or Rider, were able to breathe down his neck and watch everything he did. It made updating the Dark-Net annoying and it also meant he couldn't contact any of his friends. The only ones allowed to have free reign over computer access were the Crimson Cloaks and King, much to his infinite annoyance.

While waiting for them to get to their destination, Danny looked around the truck with bored eyes. The white-haired boy forced himself to continue smiling. If he smiled, the easier it would be for him to break out into random sarcasm. Smiling also made everything seem better than it was.

How he couldn't _wait_ to climb the ranks…

Gabe, across from the bored white-haired boy, brought his eyes into focus while he narrowed his gaze at the boy. Seeing the complete lack of interest and feeling the way Danny was straining to be completely happy again, Gabe reached forward and put his hand on Danny's knee, getting his attention. Smiling behind his mask, Gabe assured "It gets better."

Danny stared at him for a moment before huffing. "Doesn't seem that way with our irritating supervisors."

Gabe just kind of shrugged at him but didn't deny the fact the two sitting in the front got on everyone's nerves. All seven billion of them…

The ride went on for a little while longer in silence. Gabe zoned out again while Danny tried to amuse himself with the passing scenery out the back windows of the van. He grew a little edgy when he noticed they drove into a city, ready to burst from the van at any second.

A genuine smile overtook his fake one when he felt them park in a deserted part of town.

Danny quickly opened the back of the van and hopped out with the other Jade Cloaks. Crispin gestured for them to follow her and took off running towards an alley. The Sapphire Cloak and the group of "man-power" followed after, easily keeping pace with the blonde-haired girl running ahead of them and leading the way.

Crispin led the group up a fire-escape and onto the top of a building. Never once slowing, she sprinted to the side of the building and jumped before doing the same to the next and the next.

The Beta Team followed behind obediently. Danny found the situation oddly familiar with him and Batman doing the same thing many times before.

The ice-wielder led her lackeys to the edge of a building placed on a street corner. Across from them, the city's bank stood gleaming in the moonlight. The lights inside were on, shining bright light outwards and into the street. Inside, only one clerk and a couple of people cashing checks and withdrawing money were inside. There was only about half a dozen people inside.

Danny watched the bank for a moment, knowing the Cloaks usually robbed their targets after they closed for stealth reasons. Absently, he wondered why they showed up so early. They still had about forty-five minutes until closing. Were they expecting traffic or something?

The corner's of Danny's lips twitched upwards.

Carefully looking over the group, Danny saw the Jade Cloaks were still calm as ever, waiting patiently to be told what to do (gosh, Danny hoped he never became like that). Rider was staking out the place, searching for a discreet entrance with a pair of binoculars. Crispin was off to the side, pressing the com in her ear while listening to whoever was on the other line.

Danny used his enhanced hearing to listen in. He recognized the voice as King's, telling Crispin what to tell the others when they got ready to infiltrate. He informed the blonde on how to do things when, where, why, and how. Crispin listened to the instructions of her superior with a blank face, memorizing his statements within a second so she could play out his plan perfectly.

The white-haired boy rolled his eyes at that.

So that's why someone smart wasn't leading. Because smart people would never listen to a person that wasn't in the field with them. Any person with a good number of brain cells would know that, when you were in the field, the group leader was the leader. Not the control freak sitting on a throne, watching them from a distance instead of assisting.

But who would go against King, right?

Danny brushed off the new, annoying discovery. The green-eyed boy focused on thinking up a signal that would get the Dark Knight's attention and alert him to the nineteen-year-old's presence. The only problem was that Danny didn't quite know where he was and he didn't know if Batman would get the memo. Hopefully, some other hero would catch on if the Dark Knight didn't see his signal.

The white-haired male was still going through options when an idea hit him and he scanned the group around him, a small smirk appearing on his face as it fit perfectly with King's plan.

Crispin let her boss know she understood as he wrapped up his plan before taking her hand from the com. Turning around to face the Betas, she said "Alright guys. Let's discuss the plan."

At her voice, the rest of the team turned to listen in. Danny's smirk widened, muscles tensing up to begin his crazy, horrible plan that he knew would work beautifully.

Crispin nodded when she got their attention easily. "As usual, Rider's going to go in first and scout out the place. I'm going to need one of you Jades to-"

"I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!" Danny yelled before sprinting to the edge of the building, a long war-cry spilling from his mouth. As he jumped off the edge with one hand holding three fingers out, he heard Crispin screaming at him hysterically, calling him an a-hole as he fell. The wind rushed through the boy's ears and the war-cry coming from his mouth was laced with laughing.

As he got close to the ground, Danny flipped his flight on and shot towards the bank. He crashed the window, abruptly turning his flight off again. He descended quickly to the tiled floor under him. He tucked his chin to his chest, easily going into a forward roll. As he launched up, he grabbed the AA-12 from its holster. As he stood, Danny pointed the shotgun at the people in front of him, saying "Put your hands in the air, for I am fantastic!"

Immediately, all the hostages screamed, ducking to the floor and throwing their hands over their head protectively.

Danny laughed, doubling over with the intensity. "I so expected someone to laugh at me!"

Though the entire situation was hilarious to his deranged mind, Danny forced himself to calm down as he stood up straight again. As he straightened himself out, the other Cloaks quickly rushed past him. They must have improvised the plan _a lot_ because Danny had literally ruined the entire thing with one move.

While the Jades and the Sapphire Cloaks began raiding the vault, the angry Crimson Cloak stalked up to her rogue teammate. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm alerting Batman to our presence!" Danny said, striking a pose and smiling brightly.

Crispin's eye twitched behind her mask, not knowing that Danny was actually telling the truth for once in his life. "Who do you think you are?! You're blatantly disregarding orders, you idiot!"

"I am machine~! I never sleep~! I keep my eyes wide open~!" Danny sang loudly before flexing his muscles. "Boom, boom, firepower!"

Crispin held up her glowing fist, eyes flashing dangerously. "Answer me seriously, you dumb-bot!"

"Ok fine... You wanna know why I did it?"

"_Yes!_"

"I did it cause... Did you see those Huns?! They popped out of the snow! _Like daises_!"

_SMACK!_

"OW!" Danny yelled, rubbing his stinging and freezing cheek as he glared at the ice-girl in front of him.

"Stop it!" Crispin yelled at him. "Stop with the movie quotes!"

"You don't want to do that. I am filled with Scotch and bitterness and impure thoughts."

Crispin held out her glowing hand, ignoring how a couple of her teammates were already exiting the vault with a ton of cash. In the distance, they could faintly hear the cops coming. "Ridicule me. Ridicule me again. I double frikkin dare you to ridicule me again, you frikkin a-hole."

"...Pudge controls the weather."

Crispin smacked the taller male again, earning another yelp and a glare, while she said "When we get back to base, I am going to _destroy you_." With that, the girl turned on her heel and stalked towards the bank doors with the other Cloaks, calling to Danny to follow.

Smirking, Danny called after her as he followed after his team "You didn't say it right! You should've said 'I shall render his head from his shoulders! I will smite him where he stands! HE WILL RUE THE VERY DAY HE STOLE MY KINGDOM AWAY FROM ME!'"

"_SHUT UP!_"

Danny cackled as he and the others, most of which were carrying large sacks over their shoulders, backtracked to the van. After stowing the cash in the back of the van, Crispin stalked to her seat and slammed the door behind her as she got in. Rider hesitantly walked to the driver's side and got in, not wanting to upset the girl further.

In the back, Danny closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. He bent his arms over his shoulders to cushion his head against the metal of the van's side. Around him, Danny could feel the other Jade Cloaks trying to keep their mirth to themselves, trying to avoid angering Crispin anymore than she already was.

"Hey Gabe." Danny called, earning the boy's attention. "You're right. It did get better."

Though he was tempted to, Gabe kept his laughter stored away for later.

* * *

Standing in front of King with the Beta Team watching off to the side to see what would happen, Danny felt immensely proud of himself. _Immensely_ proud.

The supreme leader of the Cloaks paced in front of the domino-masked white-haired male, hands clasped behind his back. The nineteen-year-old was watching him pace with laughing eyes that glowed at the older mockingly. King didn't seem to notice the way Danny was ready to start laughing hysterically at any moment. Selective sight was an amazing gift.

Turning to the amused male, King yelled "What do you think you were doing out there?!"

Danny opened his mouth to answer, eyes glowing.

"Don't. _You dare_. Give me another movie quote."

Danny pursed his lips together tightly, his pleased smile still playing on his lips. "Well... I was just going to say I was quoting movies but you already know that. Your question was redundant, by the way. You know what happened. The Witch told you everything. I was laughing my butt off in the corner, remember?"

Crispin drummed her fingers against her arm, glaring heatedly at the boy.

King rolled his eyes in irritation. "Your Crimson Cloak had _everything under control_."

Danny hummed before shaking his head. "Umm, no she didn't."

Off to the side, Crispin stood simmering while King narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Yes, _she did_."

Danny shook his head, pressing his lips together in a firm line while his smiles continued to play. "No~, she didn't. _You_ did, Princess! I could hear you whispering in her ear, bozo! You told her every order she needed to tell the others! You wanna know what I think of that?" Danny's smile suddenly dropped and he glared dryly at the older. "That's _bull-crap_. You're not the one in the field. You should not be the one giving orders. I don't like her all that much but I would feel much better if the Witch was the one planning things out."

"Are you aware where you currently stand on the ranking scale? You don't exactly have a say in what I talk about with your group leaders. The only thing you should be doing is listening." King stated sharply, glaring down at the shorter.

Danny crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. "Ok then. I can listen for the time being."

King nodded once at the boy, instantly calming again.

"Mostly."

Off to the side, Ezra couldn't help the snort that came out of his mouth and raised his hands in defense when Crispin showed him her glowing fist.

"Just remember, Princess." Danny said, flashing his grin again even though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm here because you kept telling me how well I'd do as a Shadow Cloak. Ever since I got here, you keep holding me back from the very thing you said you wanted out of me. Now, I'm not sure what game you're playing and, frankly, I don't care. I've cheated so many games, I've lost count. So I'll cheat this one too and, somehow someway, I will receive the rank you keep dangling over my head. Got it?" Danny asked pleasantly.

King nodded once, a very resigned but irritated expression flashing through his blue-grey eyes. Danny nodded back before waving. "I shall see all of you tomorrow! Or maybe not! I may be too busy screwing all of you over! I don't really care either way!"

Danny left the throne-room, never pausing in his steps. Since he wasn't paying attention, the white-haired male didn't notice that King was smirking behind his mask.

* * *

**Poor Cloaks didn't see that coming, did they? XD**

**I hope I can get this done before July... Hmm... I'm gonna be gone for two weeks that month so I need to work faster. I also need to go finish three papers before my dad gets home and makes my sisters and I start testing out again (that probably made no sense to you guys)...**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following: _Phantom Heir Daughter of Zeus, Dayndra._**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following me: _Phantom Heir Daughter of Zeus._**

**Reviews:**

**KainVixenheim: Nice. You would definitely hate meeting this Danny then. His mouth never stops running.**

**Eirena Gaia: XD Haha! Oh my gosh, I love your hype! It makes me more excited to continue!**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Glad you think so! I have fun making up his dialogue.**

**KuriMaster13: XD Danke.**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: Do you hate Crispy as much as I do? XD How Danny got his powers; maybe, if I can fit it. If not, I'll just tell you in my last AN. As for their backstories; that's even more less likely, as there's no way to fit it, as of right now.**

**Dani: They're all waiting for him to screw-up in general. Oh look, he did! XD**

**Guest of Honor: Please. If you're going to tell me things I already told you twice not to say, don't review. It takes all the joy out of receiving a review and screws with my writing for the next half-hour.**

**16ckelman: *waves* Bye guys! Have fun with that corner!**

**Roselin: Yeah, pretty much! XD Glad to hear~!**

**Oblitus Angeli: Ha, glad you enjoyed that! Nah, you probably got it right. WAIT. *face-palm* Technically, no one has got it right yet so whatever... XD Ah, that makes sense. Poor Allen. Ha, that's hilarious! And cool! I wish you luck! *throws confetti***

**Karen: I had to get a friend to translate. Thank God for a part Spanish friend! XD Aw, glad you're enjoying! And yeah, fighting is kind of inevitable. They tick each other too much to not. *shrugs* They'll be fine.**

**Poohbearmorris: Well... He showed them. XD And yeah, pretty much.**

**Pegasus Sword Master: XD So it took a couple of weeks to make her go _completely_ insane. Wow. Record.**

**Ninuhuju: I would have loved to see you do that. And be a part of it. Sounds like fun. XD I wonder how many people are laughing sarcastically at King for his viewpoint. XD**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: Glad you understand now~! And he ain't climbing that fast...**


	14. Spare Time Boredom

Ch.14: Spare Time Boredom

Danny stared at the ceiling for the fifth night in a row, bored blue eyes drifting in and out of hazes where he was lost in thought. As of the moment, the male was acutely aware of how silent it was around him and how still he had been for the last half hour. The most he had heard was a few creaks out in the hallway and the most he had moved was his chest rising and falling as he breathed.

He didn't like it.

Sitting up, the ebony-haired boy looked around the room to try and find something to make some noise. His red-bangs immediately fell in his face, the ends invading the edged of his vision persistently. Danny brushed them away briefly, hardly noticing how they fell back to their original spot as he took his hand away.

Even though he had personalized his room over the past couple of days, it still wasn't up to the homey feel he got when he worked in his apartment in Las Vegas. There were no computers, no stereo, no electronics of any sort. King didn't let the Jade Cloaks have any. Danny had questioned this simple matter but, from what he could tell, the only reason that wasn't completely bogus was that the older, blue-eyed male was a control freak.

Of course, Danny made a special request (i.e. _demand_) that he be allowed access to computer every once in awhile to be able to work on his very special network. This allowed Danny to get in touch with his friends briefly, though he didn't get to see their faces. King, Crispin, or Rider was always watching him when he worked and he wasn't risking their identities to talk to them. It would be awhile until he would be able to hear their voices again but Danny was doing all he could to be able to reconnect with them soon.

Danny's bored blue eyes scanned the room, saw nothing that interested him, and sighed. Propping his elbows on his knees, Danny rested his head in his hands. His icy orbs were getting duller each minute and the boy wished he could just sleep the night away. He hadn't had much sleep since he got there but he never felt all that tired either.

The male surmised that he was either really paranoid and Batman rubbed off on him more than he realized or he was just used to being able to stay up for days on end. Though his long stretches of consciousness were always on accident, Danny had accidently conditioned himself into being awake for good, long periods of time before he felt tired. It was coming back to haunt him.

Danny got up and paced the room, counting imaginary sheep in his head. He did this for about twenty-minutes before he realized that, hey, it wasn't working! Groaning, Danny face-planted into his bed with his arms sprawled above his head. In frustration, Danny yelled into the blankets "I hate boredom!"

The suffocating silence was mocking him again. Danny could feel it. He had to do something to distract himself from the persisting quiet surrounding him and he had to do it quick. If he didn't, he was going to go completely insane and he'd probably screw up his mission in the process.

Then again... He was starting to have the desire to abandon it, leave everything behind, and do what he wanted. He didn't know if these thoughts spawned from the fact he grew up that way or if he was starting to resent heroism. Though not as emotionally constipated as, say, Batman, he could still be pretty bad at deciphering his feelings when it was different from his usual amusement, affection for his friends, burning anger, and overwhelming hatred of the world.

As Danny's mind raced to find something that amused him, an imaginary light-bulb went off in his brain and his head popped up out of the sheets, a crazy grin accompanying the action. The devious nineteen-year-old cackled madly to himself before spring to his feet, suddenly excited.

Danny transformed into his ghost-half as he bounced over to where he laid his cloak every time he entered his room. He snatched it up, throwing it over his shoulders without the usual hesitating minute to despise it in all its horrendous glory. Once it was on, Danny swiped his black, domino mask off the dresser and pressed it to his face. Bouncing to the door, Danny peeked his head out and made sure the coast was clear before he slipped out, closing the door behind him quietly. Then, snickering to himself, he skipped down the halls towards his destination.

The white-haired male weaved through the halls quickly, skipping down to one door at the end of one lone hallway. Smirking, he raced up to it and, quietly as he could, opened it up and peeked inside.

No one was in the pitch black room.

Once he had made sure no one was there, he silently stepped in and closed the door behind him. Flipping the light switch on, Danny looked at the row of laptops and desktops sitting on a long table. There was one for each Crimson Cloak and a couple of extras, just in case. Danny usually used one of the spares when he was working on the Dark-Net.

Tiptoeing to one of the leftover computers, Danny began the awful task of unplugging the stupid thing. He didn't understand why there were so many wires but he did, finally, unplug them all and took the laptop and one, long black cord into his arms.

Danny, once again, made sure no one was in the hallway outside the door before he slipped out of the computer room with the laptop tucked under his arm. He tiptoed down the hall, grinning evilly to himself while doing so. He was quiet all the way up to the double doors of the gym. He opened them quietly, slipping in, and making sure they were quiet as they closed behind him.

Turning around, Danny locked the double doors closed behind him and faced the open gym. It looked a lot bigger when there weren't dozens of people in it. All the equipment stood shock still and didn't waver an inch in their upright positions. They invited Danny to play on them like a jungle-gym instead of using them in their proper way.

Danny suppressed the need to turn into a five-year-old staring at a large playground that said 'do not play; work in progress' they wanted to run and play all over. Waltzing over to a panel in the wall, Danny opened the cover and looked at the dials and buttons inside. He nodded at it once and fell onto his backside on the ground.

Dragging the laptop into his lap, Danny opened it up and powered it on. After waiting for the resounding chime that alerted him to its full power mode, Danny straightened and instantly made his way into the internet. Knowing its powering on would send an alert to King's mainframe hidden somewhere within the complex, Danny typed quickly and smiled when he finally made it to the website he wanted. After, he quickly plugged the cord into the computer before plugging it into the panel. After turning all the dials up, Danny bent down and pressed 'play' on the computer.

Immediately, heavy metal poured from the speakers set up around the gym that were hardly used but were _magnificent_ for irritating an entire complex full of tightwad criminals. As the insufferable music blared through the gym, amplifying the sound times infinity, Danny instantly turned into a guitarist and began jamming out.

The reaction Danny was going for didn't come too long after that while Danny went into a drum solo. There was banging on the door and someone was trying to get his attention by yelling. It was probably Crispin, knowing she knew him well enough to know this was all his doing. But over the obnoxiously loud bass and rough singing, Danny really couldn't make out who it was that was yelling.

When his favorite part of the song came on, Danny didn't bother to mouth along anymore. He belted out the song easily, singing each word right on cue. He was a bit off key but, at the moment, he really didn't care. He was too busy basking in the noise and the chaos he had managed to cause, once again. It was so good to be breaking the rules after a long period of taking mindless orders.

Gosh, he had forgotten how fun his favorite pastime was because of the hero-life. Dang, it was kind of sad now that he thought about it...

Danny pushed the thoughts aside as he fell onto his back, laughing as he used his feet to propel himself around on the ground. He was aware he was mopping up all the grime on the floor with the back of his cloak but he honestly didn't care. He hated that green piece of cloth anyways. It added to his long list of reasons to get rid of it soon.

The white-haired boy got up sometime after his legs got tired of pushing himself around. Instead, he bounced around, still singing loudly and obnoxiously. His air guitar flew up and down with his hands, head flying every which way. His hair was quickly becoming a mess as he threw his head every direction he could. It stuck up in spastic ways, looking as if he got caught in a hurricane sometime recently.

Somehow, someway, over all the music and Danny's screeching voice, Crispin's voice (and it was _definitely_ her voice) screamed "OPEN THE FRIKKIN DOOR, YOU FRIKKIN A-HOLE!"

Mockingly, Danny's voice rose in volume and pitch. If he got any higher, he might've been able to pass himself off as a girl instead of a guy.

This thought amused the boy further and he tried to achieve the small goal.

As he approached the small feat, the doors were blasted open, ice covering one side of them entirely. Standing in the middle of the frame, Crispin breathed heavily as her furious eyes stared at the singing boy heatedly. Her hands were still glowing blue and the few other Crimson Cloaks standing behind her looked at the back of her head with disappointed expressions. It was like they couldn't believe she couldn't control one of her responsibilities. If they had known Danny a little bit better, they would've known trying to keep the boy in check forever was a lost cause.

Danny waved briefly to the girl, grinning wildly at her, before rocking out on his air guitar again. He "whipped his hair back and forth" while dancing to the depressing song playing over the speakers.

Hair in a crazy fray because she had just gotten out of bed to take care of the problem, Crispin stalked forward towards the boy. She didn't expect Danny to grab her hands when she got mildly near him, dragging her into an unwilling tango with him. Danny's laughter was mocking her and the other Crimson Cloaks' mouths dropped open as they watched. Their various colored eyes were completely stunned that a Jade would so openly disrespect their Crimson Cloak leader. That was just begging for punishment.

As she regained her senses, Crispin shoved the taller boy away while her furious look intensified. Danny just roared with laughter some more, his eyes overflowing with tears. He managed to calm himself enough to continue to mockingly dance in front of her, still belting out the lyrics to the heavy metal still playing over the speakers spread out across the room.

Crispin roared before jumping forward to tackle the taller male to the ground, hands glowing blue threateningly. Danny whooped, sliding past her on his knees like a rock-star. The girl quickly caught herself and ran after him while the white-haired male while growling through her teeth. Danny pretended to be an airplane while he sprinted away from the blood thirsty ice-wielder behind him, whooping and making plane noises as he did. The occasional laugh slipped through, which only served to make the blonde more angry with him as she chased him around the large gym room.

Still standing in the doorframe, the other Crimson Cloaks watched her without remorse and made no move to help their fellow comrade.

Crispin growled and looked at her similarly ranked acquaintances, yelling "Help me!"

Rolling their eyes, a couple of them pushed a red-haired boy with brown eyes forward to help. The boy groaned before rushing after the white-haired male, trying to take him down while Crispin tried to freeze Danny. Patches of frost and ice began appearing on the walls and floor as she missed every time she shot. Danny continued to zoom around, laughing through his panting as he outran his pursuers.

As Danny took a peek over his shoulder while grinning, his foot landed right on a patch of ice. A yelp escaped his mouth as he slipped, falling onto his back painfully. He looked up as the red-haired boy lunged for him to pin the white-haired boy to the ground. Ebony slammed over Danny's green eyes defensively. The unnamed boy screamed and lashed out at something unseen to everyone else, losing his form as he did. Danny pushed his legs up; the boy's stomach ran right into them. The black-eyed nineteen-year-old used his arms to launch himself up, taking the red-haired boy with him. Within a few seconds, it was the red-haired boy on his back on the ground, lashing out at something no one else could see while Danny stood by his head, looking down at him emotionlessly with his eerie, black eyes.

Crispin launched herself at the white-haired boy, uttering a war-cry. Danny ducked under her glowing fist, grabbed her arm as it was above him, and threw her a few feet away. The ice-wielder slid across the floor, stopping in front of the double doors. The other Crimson Cloaks were looking into the room with wide eyes while Danny calmly tilted his head at the boy by his feet, watching him thrash around.

King stormed in seconds later. He looked around before he pulled out his own pistol from around his waist, shooting the laptop and stopping the music cold. Crispin looked up at him worriedly, still sprawled out on the ground by his feet. Danny looked up abruptly once the music stopped, no clear emotion still not on his face. As he caught sight of the seething male, the black ink that had entered his eyes slowly retreated. The boy at his feet calmed his screaming and panted heavily, eyes closed tightly together.

"_What is going on in here?!_" King yelled, looking around the large, icy room and the occupants with dangerous, flashing eyes.

Crispin got off the ground, brushing herself off and standing alert in front of her superior. "Well-"

"I was being a pain again." Danny cut off, stepping forward and crossing his arms. His teasing smile was back, completely genuine as if he hadn't just scarred the boy behind him. "I've been such a good boy recently and my other personality- you know, the naughty one no one likes? -pointed a gun at the angel and took him hostage! So the very naughty personality took over my body and I couldn't stop it, King! You've got to believe me!" The smile on Danny's face was full of mirth and his eyes sparkled with amusement.

King glared at the boy, not amused by the crap that had just spewed from Danny's mouth. His eyes turned to where Crispin was standing like the good little soldier she was, silently demanding an explanation.

Blowing a strand of blonde hair out of her face, Crispin explained "Phantom hijacked one of the computers and turned on super loud, obnoxious music to wake everyone in the complex up. Avery and I tried to make him stop with force but, as you can see, that didn't exactly work out too well."

King averted his eyes back to the sweetly smiling Danny, no humor appearing on his face at the situation. The leader of the Cloaks briefly looked at the red-headed boy, Avery, before looking back at the culprit. Dryly, he questioned "What did you do to him?"

"I loved him so much and it was so powerful that he started convulsing." Danny answered, shaking his head and pursing his lips together to make it seem like it was a shame. Behind him, Avery continued to breath heavily while he calmed down from the awful fright Danny gave him.

King's glare turned into a completely dry look, silently telling the male to tell him the truth for once instead of making up ridiculous lies even a first-grader could see through.

Danny pouted at him, though his smile was playing on the corners of his lips again. "What~? You don't believe me! How could you? I thought we were allies!"

"That's pushing it." Crispin stated, brushing another loose strand of hair out of her face.

Danny shrugged. "Alright, fine. I got this weird power-thingy that makes people go a little insane cause they see their fears and stuff. No worries. He'll recover!" Danny assured, looking over his shoulder. In a low mumble that everyone still heard, he added "...maybe..."

King perked at this statement before masking his interest again, preferring to keep it on the down-low for the time being. "And pray tell, why would you do such a thing to all of the people in this facility?"

Danny shrugged again. "I was bored."

"That _would_ be his answer." Crispin said with a wondrous tone in her voice, placing her hand over her face to hide her annoyance.

Even though she couldn't see it, Danny smirked, tilted his head to the side, and waved flirtatiously at her. "Come on; I was so good on our last few heists! I was like a poster child! ...almost anyways... And it's not like you guys give me anything to do on the nights I have insomnia! If only you would let me have a computer, all of this could have been averted but _no~_, I can't be trusted to do the things I've been doing for years now... So sad..."

Behind the sighing King and exasperated Crispin, the other Crimson Cloaks gazed at the white-haired male with strange, amazed looks. They just couldn't comprehend the pain that he was putting their comrade and leader through.

After sighing long and loud, King's blue-grey eyes traveled back to Crispin's slumped form. "Please take him out somewhere."

The blonde gave her superior a dry glare. "At two in the morning? What are we going to do? Go grocery shopping?"

King glared right back at her, making sure she knew who she was talking to and warning her not to use that tone of voice with him again. "I don't _care_ what you do. There are stores and fast food restaurants open at this time. Go find one and amuse him till morning so the facility may not burn down."

"You're joking..."

"_Go. Now._"

Crispin groaned before turning on her heel and walking out of the gym, past her fellow Crimson Cloaks. Danny cackled in his spot before skipping after her and right past the other similarly ranked youths. They watched his happy form go by with blank expressions, not quite sure what to make of the scene.

A Jade Cloak was getting their way... After pulling a stupid stunt and arguing with his superiors...

Something was not right in the universe.

King sighed for the umpteenth time as his eyes followed the two down the hall. The other Crimson Cloaks wandered back over the downed Crimson Cloak still lying in the middle of the gym, exhausted. With a wave of his hand, he uncompassionate-ly ordered "Someone get him to his room. We don't need him lying in the middle of the gym."

* * *

The two youths going out in public at the weirdest time ever stopped by their rooms before going to the garage, stripping of their Cloak outfits and replacing them with civvies.

Danny merely transformed back into his human half when he got back to his room. His black-haired self was all dressed up with his usual black tee, ebony leather jacket, black jeans, and combat boots. For some odd reason, he put gel in his hair to make it spikier than it usually was. The gel made the red and the ebony look shiny. His ebony hair suddenly looked darker and his red bangs looked more vibrant than usual.

Happy with his outfit, Danny left his room and eagerly went to the garage to wait for his awful companion to show up.

Crispin changed into a blue blouse, dark-wash jeans, and knee-high black converses. She brushed her bed-head down and quickly pulled it into a braid that draped around her shoulders. After, she stopped by the kitchen to fill a large, thirty-two ounce travel mug with nothing but straight, black coffee and to grab an entire bottle of aspirin for the oncoming migraine sure to be gained from the trip she was about to make. She also slipped the shopping list hanging on the fridge into her hand on her way out.

As she entered the garage, Danny jumped out at her and the blonde screamed in shock before calming. Danny was laughing hysterically, once again, hand over his face to hide the tears running down his face.

Crispin looked at the boy, her exasperated look deepening. Taking in his appearance, she wasn't too surprised, though she was slightly curious. "How'd you get yourself to turn off, Nightlight?"

Danny grinned at her and easily lied "Hologram generator. Built it myself."

The blonde looked the ebony-haired male up and down. "Oh yeah, where is it?"

Danny lifted his leg up and pointed at his foot. "In my boot."

Crispin stared at him. Danny set his foot back on the ground, looking at her innocently. "What~? You want proof?"

The blonde turned and silently walked to one of the black vans. Danny looked after her, his mocking grin still in place. "What? Is there a problem with putting a hologram in the last place anyone would look?"

Crispin silently got in the driver's seat, turning it on and hoping to drive off before Danny could get in the car. The ebony-haired boy hopped in before she could, though, crushing her dreams. As he fell into the seat beside her, he started going off about the time he rode a dark unicorn across the galaxy and battled lots of gross globs. His story got wilder the longer he droned on.

Before she put the car in drive, Crispin poured half a dozen pills in her hand before tossing them in her mouth. She washed them down with her coffee before she clasped the steering wheel tightly in her hands. "This is going to be a long night..."

"That's not good for your colon~!" Danny mocked in a nasally voice. "And I'm pretty sure it's early, _early_ morning."

"A _very_ _long_ night..."

"Morning~!"

Crispin sighed while pressing on the gas pedal. Danny began going off on another insane story about the time he and Batman supposedly stopped an entire invasion of the undead creep-a-zoids (whatever that meant...) by themselves and that Batman had actually given him a compliment after that. Ever since, they've supposedly been best buddies.

Crispin only rolled her eyes.

Batman and Danny best friends? _Pssh_, yeah. Right. That _definitely_ happened, right along with the time Godzilla did the Macarena with the people of Tokyo.

Danny continued to spout out his adventure with the Dark Knight- of course, he twisted the truth a bit but he whatever -and couldn't help the grin that split his face. Blatantly telling someone the truth- albeit, a little off -and them not believing was seriously one of the most amusing things to do in the entire world.

* * *

King sighed as he rubbed his face behind his mask. That boy, though very impressive in his own little way, was going to be the death of him. Or someone else. But either way, someone was going to die.

The masked man took a route to his room through his throne room, walking up the stairs to his throne. Walking behind the large seat, he pressed the button on his personal elevator and waited for the contraption to open. As it did, he slipped inside and typed in the code to get down to his floor.

The elevator instantly obeyed, taking King down to his level under the already underground complex. It kept him separated from his underlings and allowed him to do as he pleased in his free time. Where he stayed was a mystery to the Cloaks and it would remain forever more.

As it stopped and the elevator doors opened, King stepped out and into his large, lavish room. He ignored everything and immediately wandered over to where his large computer was mounted on a wall. After waking it up, he typed in 'Hero Graveyard' on the search engine with a glower behind his mask.

The computer loaded the request quickly, bringing up a few dozen headlines. Though not nearly as many as one saw with Superman or Wonder Woman, it was still a fairly good collection of accounts where the indifferent hero was. Most of them were him simply defeating one of his few foes while some accompanied him with either the entire Justice League taking down a ghost invasion to even the albino boy teaming up with Batman in Gotham a few times.

Though the man didn't care for electronics, he did keep up with the news outside to see what was going on. It helped with his heist planning.

King instantly saw the similarities between the new Cloak and the hero, though he'd never seen Phantom's full face and Graveyard kept his face shadowed always. From what he could gather, the hero and the Jade Cloak also had similar personalities and had a knack for saying things they shouldn't. The masked man saw one picture of Graveyard's laughing, ominous green eyes looking up at the Dark Knight, hands on his hips and a silent laugh falling from his parted lips. Batman stared down at him with a small smirk.

Graveyard's glowing eyes were all King needed to confirm his suspicions. How had he never seen them before?

So... Phantom was a criminal turned hero that was now acting as a criminal again to get his attention? It would explain why he was so eager to get close. The faster he climbed, the faster he could delve into the man's secrets and report them to his hall-monitor who was, no doubt, Batman. That would be so like the Dark Knight.

More out of morbid curiosity than anything else, King searched the web for videos of Graveyard's adventures. Most of the ones he found were taken with phones and were out of focus most of the time but they sufficed.

There was one that caught King's complete and utter attention. Moving his mouse over to the link that was entitled 'Graveyard's Creepy-Ass Power'.

The video came up instantly, ready to play at any moment of King's choosing. Quickly pressing the button that allowed the video to start, the masked man with blue-grey eyes watched the screen intensely.

Graveyard was immediately dodging past the camera, earning a startled yelp from the cameraman as the white-haired male zoomed past. His laughter was drifting through the area (that was _definitely_ Phantom's laugh - how had he missed it _so easily_?) as he rushed into the air, quickly being followed by a man made of metal.

"_Come on, Skulky!_" Graveyard taunted, spinning in the air while facing the robot. His smile was taunting and his the green energy around his hands was threateningly. "_It doesn't have to be like this! We can do this the easy way, where I merely send you back to the GZ with the ray gun! We don't have to take the hard road, my friend! It just isn't worth it~!_"

The robot with the green, flaming mohawk growled at the boy. "_Not after our last battle!_"

Graveyard scoffed and waved his glowing, green hand around in the air. "_Skulker, let it _go_. For the love of- It's my duty to kick your butt! Accept this as fact before I bust out the big guns._"

The flaming haired metal man, Skulker, snarled before pulling out a large gun from his never-ending arsenal. Skulker had no time to use it, though, because ebony tendrils slipped into Graveyard's eyes and his opponent began screaming hysterically, clutching his ears and closing his eyes tightly.

Graveyard didn't seem at all concerned with the reaction. In fact, he looked pleased, grinning and shaking his head. His white hair bobbed left and right. "_I told you, Skulker. We could've done this the easy way._"

After that, the clip stopped rolling.

King fell into the chair in front of the large monitors and leaned back in his seat, thoughtful and quiet. The boy's obvious indifferentism was something interesting. He didn't care what seemed to happen to anybody, as long as he had his fun and he didn't get wounded too badly. King had also read somewhere, a good long while ago, that Graveyard could be particularly brutal if he wanted. The video King had watched proved this to be true.

So... Could he manipulate that obvious lack of interest in hero-ing into his favor?

* * *

Crispin reached over, grabbed the hem of Danny's shirt, and yanked him back inside the van, as the boy was half hanging out of it stupidly. Though it was very tempting to push him out and let him get hit by one of the cars driving along side them, the ice-wielder didn't because she knew there was, at least, a couple of people who would not be too happy with her actions.

Danny laughed as he fell back into his seat and the blonde was starting to hate the sound. "Come on Crispy! Lighten up! Have you ever hung out of car like that? I have to say; it's one of the most glorious things in the world! You should try it sometime! Wait, how 'bout now?! Hey, you hang out the window and I'll hold the wheel-"

"Do you live to do stupid stuff?!" Crispin questioned as she stopped at a traffic light. She turned her head to look at the boy, a bewildered and tired expression on her face as she glanced at him. He had been so good the past week and showed no signs of relapsing into his chaotic ways; he'd barely even cackled. What had brought on the sudden urge to screw everyone over?

Danny laughed his annoying laugh and nodded his head. "Yeah! Being irritating is like the need to pee! I can only hold it in for so long."

Crispin groaned and let her forehead fall onto the steering wheel, pressing the horn. The loud sound alarmed a couple of the other drives, though it was very few, and woke up a few of the people sleeping in the apartment complexes surrounding them. Crispin kept her head there, continuing to press the horn. Tiredly, she mumbled "Oh, that explains _so much_..."

In the seat next to her, Danny's sides hurt with how hard he was laughing. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, threatening to overflow and slide down his cheeks. One hand covered his eyes and the other held his middle. He roared with laughter, kicking his feet to try and calm himself.

The light turned green and Crispin continued to press her forehead to the horn. People behind them honked their horns, not understanding the girl's deal all the sudden. This only furthered Danny's amusement to the point there wasn't even a sound coming out of his mouth. He sat in his seat, no noise coming out of his mouth and clapping like a retarded seal. The tears had suddenly begun to flow from his closed eyes, creating trails down his flushed face.

As the blonde sat up in her seat, too tired to tell her companion to shut up, she pressed the gas and drove across the intersection, surmising it was probably better to let Danny get away with small stuff than to let all his chaotic thoughts build up until he finally burst at the seams, laughing and thrashing everyone with his 'sense of humor'.

Pulling into the Walmart parking lot, Danny began to calm down. The tears stopped flowing and nothing more than tiny giggles escaped his lips. Wiping the watery streaks from his face, Danny laughed a couple more times while the girl beside him parked beside the only other car in the parking lot.

"Really? Out of all the spots you chose the one right beside the crappy Prius?" Danny asked, looking at her with a look.

Crispin glared at him, grabbed her bottle of aspirin, and took a couple more of the tablets. Picking up her travel mug full of cooling coffee and slipping a wallet from a secret compartment in the glove compartment, the blonde ordered Danny out of the car while she did as she said. The red-banged boy told her 'nah' and leaned back in his seat. His door opened beside him and Crispin quickly yanked him out, earning a loud yelp as Danny spilled out and onto the concrete at her feet. Shutting the door behind him, Crispin locked the car doors and began walking towards the store. "Let's go."

Danny got up as he cackled, dusting himself off, before quickly following after. "Come on, Witch! I'm that bad, am I?"

"_Oh_ no~, you're a heck of a lot worse."

Danny danced beside the girl in victory as they walked in the automatic doors, earning the attention of the one clerk there before he went back to reading his book. The blonde grabbed a shopping cart before pulling out the list, taking another gulp from her mug. Danny danced around her, attempted to get in the cart, and got smacked. After a few more attempts, Crispin finally let him have his way and let him get in the cart. Danny sighed happily as he was pushed around, slinking in his ride contently.

What she would give to be able to take his place at that moment...

The two youths wandered around the store quietly. Once he was in the cart, Danny calmed considerably and stopped talking, closing his eyes as Crispin pushed him around. She occasionally threw something in the cart with him, though he didn't seem to mind having a couple dozen boxes of mac-n-cheese, cereal, and granola bars on him.

Crispin took his silence as a gift from God and made no move to disturb him, sipping on her coffee occasionally.

As she strolled down one aisle, Crispin noticed her passenger was staring at her with blue eyes. Though a little creeped out, she didn't say anything for fear of his mouth starting and never stopping. As she put about a dozen bottles of ketchup in the basket, Crispin noticed the boy's head lean back over the side of the cart, looking at the things in front of them upside-down. The girl took another sip of her coffee just as Danny asked "Do you ever read 'condiments' as 'condoms'?"

The coffee spewed from Crispin's mouth and landed all over the floor, just as she began choking. Danny watched the show from his seat with a devious smile on his face, arms laying on the edges of the cart comfortably.

As her fit calmed, Crispin looked at her passenger with an irritated expression. "Do you find these things somewhere or are you just that obnoxious?"

Danny grinned his answer.

"I had a feeling that was going to be his answer..." Crispin mumbled, pushing the cart forward so she could hit another aisle to get food for the large 'family' that was the Cloaks.

"It's not my fault I always read it like that."

"I'm just going to pretend you didn't just tell me that..."

"But it will forever haunt your dreams and whisper in your ears when you least want it to."

"Ain't that the truth?"

Crispin shopped around the store a little more, putting lots of much needed things in the basket in front of her. Danny continued to let her pile things on him, quickly becoming buried while he droned on about meaningless observations. Crispin put up with it silently, still gulping down her coffee so her urge to sleep didn't seem so bad.

The ice-wilder never felt any more ridiculous than the moment she pulled up to the cash register with another youth buried within the basket, probably older than her by a year or two. The clerk tried not to look at them strangely but the scene was ridiculous and comical. It was hard not to take a picture and post it on several social media sites.

After everything had been checked, Crispin quickly paid with the Cloak's credit card before piling everything back in the basket where Danny had, seemingly, fallen asleep. The blonde pushed the cart out to the car, piled everything in the back, and smacked the boy upside the head.

"OW!" Danny yelled, rubbing his head as he sat up.

Crispin glanced at him dryly before gesturing to the van. "Come on. We're heading out."

The red-banged male before obediently hopping out of the shopping cart and getting in the car with his superior. "Where we going now~?"

"Back to base."

"But I don't wanna~!"

"But I don't wanna deal with you so shut up!"

"NO~!"

Crispin groaned.

* * *

**This was only going to be a filler when I started. Then it turned out I needed it. Hilarious how that happens, right?**

**Yesterday was my last day of school! I'M-A SO HAPPY! :DDD Now I may bask in my love for Pentatonix...**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following: _Greeny619._**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following me: _Dayndra, RedRose0123._**

**Reviews:**

**Eirena Gaia: I'm totally excited because of you! :D Oh my gosh, that's hilarious! What a coincidence! XD And wow... A heart. Sounds like fun. *thumbs up* And yeah~!**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: I never saw the movie but whatever. XD Glad you enjoyed!**

**KuriMaster13: Which means you won't mind me doing that kind of thing in the future. Thanks!**

**Sarra Torrens: Glad you thought so!**

**BoyDragon1: Already got an identity picked out for King. You'll find out who it is soon enough.**

**Roselin: I knew you would appreciate that... That he did. XD**

**Crimson Leo: :D Oh my gosh, that means so much. I'm-a so happy you're enjoying!**

**Pegasus Sword Master: YES! Someone admitted to having a laughing fit! *parties* It should. That's why that's his view point. XD**

**Ninuhuju: Nice! :D He is? You think so? Sweet!**

**PHOENIX1020: Aw, hope everything goes well.**

**Guest of Honor: The sing was waiting for later! ...and now, apparently. XD**

**KainVixenheim: Glad you caught that...? (Wasn't really linking it... XD) And glad you had fun!**

**Expergiscimini: ...*bursts out laughing* I never thought of it like that! I was thinking of something else!**

**Poohbearmorris: I think we _all_ would want to do that. XD Pssh, control freaks... Am I the only one who gets the smirking? XD**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: Good. One of you guys needed too. XD Welcome! Oh, I know, right? He's such a dick sometimes! Oh well!**

**Karen: Oh my gosh, glad you enjoyed! There probably won't be an x-over though. We'll see. But it would be hilarious. XD**

**IWasNeverReal: XD If my dad could, he'd speak in movie quotes. Mom doesn't understand though.**

**16ckelman: Hahaha! Glad you're enjoying so much!**


	15. Moving Up

Ch.15: Moving Up

Fixing the cowl over his head securely, Batman walked up beside his large computer. His fingers graced over the keyboard quickly, typing something in while his eyes stayed locked to the screen in front of him. As soon as he had finished typing, a few video clips, headlines, and pictures flashed across the screen. Batman started filtering out the ones he didn't want to see or had seen before and had no interest in revisiting. Quickly, his results were narrowed down.

Light footsteps sounded beside him and Damian stopped beside him, crossing his arms over his black wrap shirt and glancing over the titles of the videos, headlines, and photos. He wasn't surprised by the results at all, though he did feel a twinge of annoyance.

"Why are you looking through the latest news of the Cloaks _again_?" The ten-year-old asked, turning his blue eyes up to the taller man beside him. His expression was completely dry, not a single trace of humor on it. The worry he had felt for the idiotic, blue-eyed prick earlier in the week had long since faded. Now that they were aware of his whereabouts and trusted the boy to continue with the plan, there was no need to be anxious about the fact he could be lying in an alley, bleeding out all over the concrete floor.

Batman shrugged at his son with a dry expression of his own on his face, earning an eye roll from the younger. "I just want to see if he's done any other heists, Damian. He could be the key to figuring out if there are any discernible patterns for a possible heist schedule. Knowing the little bugger, he's sure to make a small, confusing sign at each site somehow. I've already managed to catch the likes of him at three other sites after the initial first, if not more."

Damian hummed at the point, not liking to admit his father had a point to his calculations, crazy as they were. Nothing was more irritating to him than not catching the sense of certain acts before they were explained to him. "Have you found any patterns pertaining to this schedule hypothesis you have or are you still puling at straws?"

"So far, each team just seems to be picked at the last possible minute. No discernible patterns and King has been reusing about four teams in the past month, though in the beginning he had five different teams going out and doing his dirty work." Batman explained, scanning over one of the headlines before tossing it aside for a different clip.

"Do you think people are leaving?" Damian asked curiously.

Batman shook his head in reply. "I don't think so. King, from what little info I've gathered, won't just let his workers go without a reason. His old teams were perfectly fine when they were taken out of duty and replaced by others."

"So he's got the teams on different shifts then?"

"Seems like it. As of right now, the team Danny has been assigned to is in commission, which is why we've seen a lot of him. Once his team is taken off duty, it might be a good few months before we see the likes of him again. He'll have to stay with them until he can manage to get the rest of the plan rolling." Batman explained, taking notice of something strange in a different headline.

"That isn't a completely horrible set-back." Damian said, shrugging his shoulders. "It'd give the brain-donor a large opening to dig into the Cloaks' secrets and we wouldn't have to hear his voice for a good, long while."

"Though I agree on the first point, I do not see what the second has to do with anything." Batman stated, taking his eyes from the article he was reading to glance down at his son by his side. "Also, Danny is prone to irritable moods when cooped up in places other than his home, which is why he despises the seven or more hours of school. With our luck, he'd blurt his position to every last Cloak before blowing the place sky-high with them inside."

Damian shrugged at the vivid description, not too overwhelmed with the fact that Danny would do such a thing. "That is not a terrible outcome either, so long as the prick is inside with the rest of the criminal scum."

Batman glared at the younger, smaller child at his side. "You know that is not how we work."

Damian nodded, accepting this as true. "I am aware. I was just stating that the deaths of an entire criminal organization would make the problem disappear faster. And if he-"

"Don't finish that sentence."

The ten-year-old shrugged nonchalantly, not at all phased by the way his train of thought had taken him down a dark and admittedly dangerous track. "I was just stating facts, looking at the situation logically. After all, that's what you do, is it not?"

Batman's glare remained locked onto Damian, all humor lost in the expression. "We don't think about sacrificing lives, even logically."

Damian just shrugged his consent, though he knew he couldn't just change his mind-set just like that. Yes, he had helped search for the boy dancing around with a bunch of cloaked felons. He had done it because he recognized the older could be a good teacher (if he ever turned serious about anything). Does a person have to like someone help to help them out?

If so, he was going to have to watch who he helped out in the future.

* * *

Danny fixed the domino mask around his green eyes in front of his full body mirror, making sure to keep everything looking symmetrical. Nothing was more annoying than feeling your mask dipping to one side while you tried to work. It was like a fly buzzing around your face; it was annoying and you wanted the irritation to leave you alone.

The ebony-haired boy had learned on one of his heists that a lopsided mask was the most distracting things ever. He hadn't been allowed to play with it until they got back in the van either. Because of this injustice, Danny had made sure to be the most annoying thing in the world to Crispin. That, in itself, wasn't a hard task.

After fixing the mask on his face securely and evenly, Danny stared at the green cloak lying in its usual spot. Even after a couple of weeks, it still mocked him with its presence. Most days, it was tempting to torch it and demand he be moved up to his proper rank. Other days, he found it more tolerable when he was distracted with Dark-Net updates and annoying the Cloaks on a small scale so there wasn't a large prank like the one done a few nights before.

Danny flipped the cloak off with both of his middle fingers, ignoring the small voice in his head that told him the cloak was nothing more than an inanimate cloak. It didn't care what you thought of it because it didn't have a brain or _feelings_.

Walking past the cloak lying lonely in its spot, Danny went to his door and opened it. He walked out, strolling down the hall and past other Jade Cloaks. They glanced at him briefly before moving on. The ones of his team, like Gabe and Ezra, sent small waves to the white-haired male on a mission. Danny sent his acquaintances a smirk in acknowledgment, keeping his pace and staying on track.

Strolling up to the double doors of the gym, Danny opened one of them and peeked in. Smiling at the empty room, Danny waltzed in and let the doors fall shut behind him. His form moved over to the table set up near the panel in the wall, a laptop sitting on top and shut down. The white-haired boy turned it on, tapping his foot impatiently.

The computer booted up rather quickly, as Danny had done some upgrading to the dull machine. And his upgrades were always the best one could ask for when he did them right.

Looking through his different playlists, Danny hummed as he thought about which one to use. After the incident with him dancing in the middle of the night and waking everyone up with 'God-awful music' (Danny begged to differ), the male was allowed to set up the music in the gym as long as he never played his music that loud in the middle of the night ever again.

Danny decided on his techno music, pressing the playlist and turning the music up to a reasonable level; it would be loud enough to make it feel like the music was flowing through his veins but quiet enough that no one would be irritated with him too badly. Besides, everyone was up. Or, at least, he hoped so.

The boy's tunes drifted through the speakers around the room, surging even more energy through his already pumped and jittery body. Feeling more content than he had in a long time with all the things happening in his already messed up life, the white-haired boy practically skipped over to the gymnastic mats. There were routines Batman had showed him for the field but he hadn't quite mastered them yet. Though he had been told his smaller build was perfect for gymnastics in the past, he still needed lots of instruction to go against his natural instincts to _stay on the ground, _ignoring the fact he could fly.

Feeling more alive than ever, Danny tried to stay still for a minute to prepare his mind for the series of quick movements he was about to perform. However, his body was pulsing with unused energy and he bolted forward, trying to perform the flips and twists involved within the routine. He managed to get a few down but a few others he screwed up on. He found he really didn't care though, so long as he was working on making it better.

He wasn't quite sure why he needed to know the movements because his powers gave him an advantage over his enemies but he continued to work on mastering the routines that, once he mastered, he could manipulate any way he wanted. Then he could shove his accomplishment in the Unholy One's face, even though said Unholy One probably already had long since mastered all the routines.

Oh well. Danny was at least getting better. That was more than he could say for some couch potatoes out there, off in the world doing who-knows-what.

Danny landed with his feet on the mats with a loud _smack_, grinning wildly to himself. He thought he might have that one down. He hadn't stumbled once throughout the routine but his form could've been off without his knowing.

Hm… Dang it, he needed Batman. _Figures_. Damian would laugh his head off.

As he readied himself to sprint into a different routine, the door opened and Danny spared a glance to his side. Finding it was just Rider, the white-haired boy ignored the other male in favor of trying to perfect the sequence. However, he felt himself stumble in the middle and whined in his head, not willing to make the pathetic sound out loud and in front of another.

Rider, by the time Danny was done, was already waiting for his attention beside the mats. As the green-eyed male finished up with a small frown, the Sapphire Cloak called "Phantom."

Smirking to himself a little bit, Danny chose to ignore the other boy. Without saying a word and not feeling all that compelled to find out what the other wanted, Danny began performing another routine. This time, he didn't catch his foot but he had a strong feeling his form was still off. This irritated him but it was suppressed by the amusement he got from Rider's impatience to get his attention.

"Phantom, King needs to see you." Rider stated, watching as his teammate continued to jump back and forth, flipping in the air and trying to get his body to perform his routines correctly. The black-haired boy frowned irritably. "Phantom, come on. This is no time for jokes. King's gonna whoop your butt if you don't see him."

Danny chose to ignore this. There were a lot of things the man was going to kick his butt for. Ignoring him was not going to make top of the list; he knew that for sure.

Rider tried to get a response from Danny for a few more minutes, threatening him with King's wrath before switching to trying to bribe him. It was a fruitless attempt; the white-haired male bouncing around was not going to listen to the domino-masked Sapphire Cloak. He was going to make the king come to him this time. Time for the tightwad to bend to his will for once.

Rider sighed irritably when the Ghost Boy didn't give him any attention. Turning on his heel, he stalked away and out the door. Since his back was towards Danny, he missed how the immature nineteen-year-old shot him a silly yet disturbing look at his back. The door closed behind him and Danny laughed.

Feeling much more energetic, Danny bounced around uselessly like an excited little kid in a candy store. Mouthing along with the words blaring over the speakers, Danny continued to try out the various routines while adding a small break-dance twist in an attempt to merge the two.

Nothing made Danny more creative than uncontained energy.

Danny was performing one of his mixes of break-dancing and gymnastic routines when King, Rider, and Crispin quietly walked into the room. By then, he was full blown singing to try and appease some of his overflowing energy. As he finished up the routine, he drifted more into dancing instead of combining it with the moves he was trying to perfect. He looked absolutely ridiculous to the three watching him but the boy didn't see them. Even so, if he did see them, he wouldn't care anyhow.

Turning around sharply to the beat wafting through the room, Danny stopped short when he saw the three of them watching him with dry expressions on his face. Immediately, he noticed Rider was now decked out in a green cloak and Crispin wore a blue one, a red one draped over her arm. A smug feeling entered his chest.

Danny didn't let on he knew what was going on, though he knew they knew he already knew. He waved with a cheeky smile on his face before continuing on, making sure to make even more of a scene than before. His voice rose in volume, hoping to annoy the crap out of them.

If the scowls on Rider's and Crispin's face and King's not amused attitude was anything to by, he was sure doing one heck a job.

"Starships were meant to die~! Hands up and touch the pie~! Can't stop cause we're so dry~! Let's not do this one last time~!"

Crispin sighed, putting a hand over her face and mumbling 'idiot' under her breathe. Rider slowly shook his head, a look of complete and utter amazement on his face. King continued to glare at the boy prancing around the room like a pony.

With a small cue from King, Rider walked over to the laptop and pressed the pause button.

Immediately, Danny's techno music was cut off but this did not deter him though. He continued singing and dancing as if his tunes were still playing. Though his moves were a little slower because he couldn't quite feel the beat anymore, he still looked like the prancing pony he was making himself out to be.

King sighed in irritation. "Phantom, we need to discuss something."

"Buy it, use it, break it, fix it, trash it, change it, mail, upgrade it, charge it, point it, zoom it, press it, snap it, work it, quick, erase it, write it, cut it, paste it, save it, load it, check it, quick, rewrite it, plug it, play it, burn it, rip it, drag and drop it, zip, unzip it~."

"He gets what he wants. But does this to us anyways." Crispin stated unhappily, watching as Danny bobbed his head around. "Anyone else not understand this logic?"

Danny grinned at them. "Consider this payback for making me wait for almost an entire months, jerk-offs. Lock it, fill it, curl it, find it, view it, code it, jam, unlock it, surf it, scroll it, pose it, click it, cross it, crack it, twitch, update it, name it, read it, tune it, print it, scan it, send it, fax, rename it, touch it, bring it, pay it, watch it~"

"Unless you want to kiss the position goodbye, I suggest you stop." King stated plainly, cutting the singing nineteen-year-old odd completely and instantly getting him to shut down. With a pout, Danny turned to them and batted his eyes.

"Fine~."

King gestured to Crispin and, with an irritated huff, the girl walked forward and shoved the red cloak into Danny's arms. She quickly turned on her heel, trying to quickly retreat from the boy and wishing to ignore her demotion. She wasn't quick enough to escape Danny pulling on her braid.

"Don't touch me." The girl snapped at her new superior. Danny smirked and waved cheekily again. Crispin growled under her breathe before stalking away. "Idiotic computer geeks…"

"When's my first heist as leader?" Danny asked, an excited grin on his face and an excited smirk on his lips.

"How do you feel about tomorrow night?" King asked, though the tone he used sounded more like a command than a question.

Danny brushed off the blatant order and acted like it was a request of sorts. He grinned wildly and threw the cloak over his shoulders, clasping it on. He thought it would look good with his red bangs but, alas, he could not transform back for fear of giving away his identity.

King gave the new Crimson Cloak a small nod before turning on his heel and walking out, followed by the newly demoted Jade Cloak and Sapphire Cloak. Danny watched with a smirk and listened to the door shut with a _click_. Soon as they were gone, Danny whooped and skipped over to the laptop sitting by the panel in the wall. He turned on his techno music again, hollering along with the words.

* * *

King stepped up to his computer, falling in the large chair. With a few, small clicks across the computer, the camera-feed from the gym flashed across the screen. The feed showed Danny dancing around the room, flaring his red cloak around while singing, laughing, and hollering. The man's blue-grey eyes were narrowed at the screen irritably, taking notice of the way the younger couldn't hold his excitement at his promotion.

The masked man hummed, pulling up an article of Graveyard to compare his features to the prancing boy's. Though he had long been since convinced, it still shocked him he had been oblivious for so long.

"Idiotic computer geeks…" King muttered, getting up from his seat and leaving the YouTube-worthy feed to continue playing and recording.

* * *

**The Starship parody... Yeah, my cousins made that up. While we rode a golf-cart. I think there was, like, 8 of us in it at one time (our record is 12 kids). ...it was pretty hysterical... XD**

**Reviews:**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Yup. That's out little psychopath for ya. XD Danke!**

**Eirena Gaia: Haha! I wanna meet your friend. XD Who knows what'll happen..?**

**KuriMaster13: None of us would laugh if we were Crispin. XD Dun dun DUN~! What happens next~? Who knows? (I know but whatever...)**

**Roselin: Everyone wants to kill Danny at some point... And his plan might've gone downhill. We'll see.**

**BoyDragon1: Always. :)**

**Expergiscimini: Not my fault I got out when I did! XD His powers don't work that way! It'd take some serious creativity to do that!**

**Sarra Torrens: Sorry to hear bout that! Glad you enjoyed though!**

**Dani: XD No one I know understands fanfiction either. Glad I'm not the only one with this problem.**

**PHOENIX1020: *salutes***

**BringbackDannyPhantom: Yup! What will he do with this info? We shall find out! XD I follow a regular school schedule, just with my curriculum. I finished testing out Tuesday. WOO! And Kaddy got tired of me humiliating him so he usually hangs out somewhere while I take care of things. o.-**

**Guest of Honor: Oh, the perks of homeschooling... Oh, you know he is! *dances at the drama***

**Karen: Hehehe~! Glad you enjoyed that mental picture! Unfortunately, I can't draw... Poor them. It's only gonna get worse from her. *slaps a hand over mouth* Shouldn't have said that.**

**16ckelman: XDDDDD Oh my gosh, in some other dimension he would do that, wouldn't he?**

**KainVixenheim: Bad luck all around, huh? XD**

**Poohbearmorris: Yup. I'm so psyched being out. XD Glad you enjoyed!**

**Pegasus Sword Master: That's what I like to hear~! :D**

**Ninuhuju: Hahaha~! And his decision spawned from the fact Danny used his nightmare powers, which is one of Graveyard's. ...why can't I be your partner?**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: :D Glad you enjoy her misery as much as I do! *dances***


	16. Crazy, Horrible Boy

Ch.16: Crazy, Horrible Boy

Batman and Robin looked at the screen, faces completely blanked. They were torn between feeling surprised and just _not_. The images flashing across the screen were anything but shocking but, at the same time, they had never seen Danny be so commanding while being so _stupid_ at the same time.

"I'm beginning to believe he is having too much fun with this mission." Robin stated, glancing up at his father with a raised eyebrow. With his arms crossed over his chest, he turned his lips into a frown while he tried to figure out what the heck was going through Danny's mind while he enacted some seriously messed up moves for a heist.

Batman tilted his head to the side; the action was almost unperceivable. "I think I'm going to have to agree with you on that one…"

Robin narrowed his eyes at the screen. "Why would he..?"

"Don't even ask, ok? Whatever is going on in Danny's mind does not need to be figured by anybody. It makes sense to him. That's all that matters." Batman cut off, not willing to give an answer to his son's question. It was much easier to leave the crazy, horrible boy named Danny to himself, where he could be crazy and horrible by himself.

The two perked when they saw Green Arrow and Black Canary enter the scene. Batman couldn't help the smug smirk, as he never did get Danny and the green-hooded male to spar. Robin, if he was sitting instead of standing, would have been on the edge of his seat to see what would happen next, as this was probably one of the most interesting things he had seen in a long time.

"This just got a lot more amusing." Robin stated, a wild grin forming on his face.

Batman hummed his agreement, smug smirk still in place. He drawled a long "Yeah…" in response to his son's (mostly) innocent statement. The white slits guarding his eyes waited to see the bound-to-be hilarious scene beginning to play out across the screen.

Robin looked up to see if his father was ok because he never answered anything with that kind of tone. Seeing the expression he was wearing, the littlest bird of the family shrugged and went back to watching. Whatever went on between his father and the green-clad archer was not his problem (though it would be fun to find out what the newest rivalry spawned from this time).

With looks of satisfaction, they watched as the two heroes and the one undercover agent fought each other while the rest of the Cloaks escaped from the Star City Bank while the red-cloaked boy covered them. Danny had a high advantage over the other heroes and was easily kicking their butts while still managing to have fun while doing so.

"Do you have any idea why he changed cloak colors? Or if this is the last heist?" Robin asked the older crime-fighter beside him.

Batman gave some moment of thought, still smiling smugly at the screen, before he answered. "I think the colored cloaks might be a sign to some rank. It'd explain why we always see a couple of green cloaks and only one of blue and red. As for the last heist, we're going to have to ask Green Arrow and Black Canary about that one. If it is, Danny will send him GPS coordinates of the base. If it's not, he won't do anything."

Robin looked his father up and down. "The GPS is not going to be the only thing you ask about, is it?"

Batman shook his head, drawling a long "_No-o-o-o_…"

The young assassin-turned-crime-fighter huffed and shook his head, rolling his eyes under his mask. "I think the imbecile is rubbing off on you a little too much…"

"Remember Robin, I'm surrounded by mischievous little birds no matter where I go. Danny is not the only one that's rubbing off on me." Batman stated, shoving the boy away by his head teasingly. Robin growled before smacking the hand away, glaring at the older. Batman only smirked at the younger, amused.

* * *

Danny impatiently bounced in his spot, grinning wildly behind his plain mask. His red cloak was draped around his shoulders, clasped tightly above his heart. His fingers twitched incessantly. The nineteen-year-old was keenly aware of the holsters strapped to his thigh and back, weighing him down in an aching way while they whispered for him to _use them_. Excitedly, his green eyes sparkled while he waited for the Jade Cloaks to show up.

Crispin, now an unhappy Sapphire Cloak, stood beside the newly promoted Crimson Cloak. Her face was staring at the doors to the garage with disdain. Her arms were crossed over her chest, fingers tapping unhappily against her elbow. Arctic blue eyes occasionally wandered away from the doors and around the room. Every time they landed on the boy, she growled and looked back at the doors, trying to hide the fact she was obviously ticked at his promotion.

Danny was well aware of the girl's plight. He'd been particularly brutal with her today, making sure to flaunt his success profusely. Though this enticed her to be more brutal with him physically during training, Danny had managed to come out mostly unscathed and right on top. In his mind, he was king of the hill (and he also realized the irony of this internal statement but refused to acknowledge it).

Still bouncing in his spot, Danny looked at the unhappy girl beside him with the biggest grin known to man on his face. It was a shame Crispin couldn't see it though. She would hate him even more. "Hey Crispy! Guess what!"

"Stop calling me that." Crispin said plainly, glancing at the white-haired male beside her. Her arctic eyes were heated and icy all at the same time. Blue sparks were dancing above her hands, not being able to be controlled with so many strong emotions flowing through her veins.

"Too bad!" Danny said. His voice was still pleasant and was slowly rising in pitch. He held himself like a kid on Christmas, excited and impatient for the goodies being handed to him. "Now guess again, little Ice Witch-y~! Who knows?" Danny abruptly threw one of his arms around the girl's neck, putting her in a headlock and earning a startled yelp. A man with a vision, Danny gestured to the air above. "Maybe I'll make you laugh for once, Crispy!"

Crispin shoved the boy away from her, growling at his sudden physical touch. "Don't touch me."

"Come on, Crispy~!" Danny whined, smile teasing and eyes laughing. "You gotta guess to get me to shut up! I know you dream about it at night and think about it during the day!"

Crispin glared at the boy, knowing this to be a flat out _lie_. He would never willingly shut up. "In hopes that you might actually be telling the truth for once,"

Danny omitted the part where he had told her about giving away his position to Batman and all their adventures together. No one had believed him. Apparently that notion was completely _ridiculous_. Pssh, no respect…

"I guess that you're going to tell me that you're a Crimson Cloak now. Again. Completely ignoring the fact I was there when you were promoted." Crispin finished, glaring dryly at the boy. She re-crossed her arms over her chest and began to tap her fingers against her elbow again. Her tongue pushed against the inside of her cheek.

Danny continued grinning. "No. I was going to tell you that there's a bug on your shoulder."

Crispin yelped, grappling to get the despicable creature off her shoulder. After a minute, she recognized Danny's childlike laughter and stopped hysterically sweeping her shoulders. The blonde glared at the boy again with her fists by her side, glowing blue, yet again. "Really? How immature can you get?!"

"Very!" Danny answered, pointing at her with both of his index fingers. His wild grin had widened behind his black mask; his form radiated with joy that clashed with the air of disdain around the ice-wielder's form. "I'm one of those people who enjoy bringing misery to others! You're people, Witch!"

Crispin glared deeper. If she wasn't wearing her mask, her frown would have made Danny laugh again. "I can already tell that this heist is going to go bad…"

Danny hummed, easily falling into a calculating amusement while looking down at the blonde girl. Crispin set one hand on her hip, sizing the boy up.

"It'll go fine." Danny assured, waving off her disbelief in his way go to his head. Everyone doubted him in the beginning. That wasn't new. "It's going to be better than any of the ones you've led."

"Oh yeah, what makes you so sure, prancing pony?" Crispin shot back, practically challenging the other. Anyone could tell she was not used to being stuck as a second-in-command. Her place was so obviously needed in the Crimson Cloak position.

"Ah, ah, ah~!" Danny sung, wiggling his index finger in her face while leaning forward. Crispin jerked back from the older boy, looking at him weirdly. "Remember Witch, I'm your superior! You listen to me now~!" Crispin glowered in her spot, painfully being reminded of her position. Danny grinned wider and tapped her head. "Good doggy~!" Crispin smacked his hand away, getting Danny to mock-gasp. "Bad, Crispy, bad!"

"Boy, I'm gonna-"

The door to the garage opened and Crispin shut her mouth with a snap. She glowered in her spot, crossing her arms over her chest again while she looked away from the laughing boy beside her. The Jades looked between the two but wisely decided not to ask. An amused Phantom and an angry Crispin was never a good combo and usually ended with someone yelling and slapping the other.

"Ready team?" Danny asked excitedly, turning on his mock-Superman voice as he stood in the stereotypical Superman-stance. Forgetting he had a mask on, Danny shot a million watt smile and showed off his pearly white teeth. "Because I know I am, you fantastic interlopers."

Gabe, Kai, Ezra, and Milo cracked up and laughed, knowing Danny was more than ok with goofing around and since he was Crimson Cloak, his word was law. Rider raised an eyebrow at the boy and glanced at Crispin. The blonde had a hand over her face, groaning in misery at having an idiot for a team leader.

Danny turned on his heel and began walking to the car. "Come on, Cloak-y's~! We don't have all night! It's time to party hard~ like no one's watching~ and something else~ and did I even sing that right? Cause I have a feeling I combined a few songs…" Danny trailed, stopping and rubbed the back of his neck. The four long-time Jades laughed louder while the other two sighed. "Crispy! Do you have the keys? Cause if not, I'm a-hotwiring!"

"Please don't." Crispin said, walking up behind the boy and traveling around the van with the keys dangling from her finger. "I'll drive. I'm scared to see how you drive."

Danny waved it off while saying "Oh, it's not that bad!"

"I seriously doubt that." Crispin stated.

Danny shrugged and gestured for the other Cloaks to get in the back. "I don't care either way. I do what I want. Now come along, my little followers! In the back so we may begin the journey to the Chamber of Secrets! …that is what it's called, isn't it?"

Crispin sighed before getting in the driver's seat. The Jades, four out of five still laughing at their leader's antics, eagerly hopped in the back and closed the doors behind them. Danny skipped over to this door, threw it open, and hopped in. He slammed the door behind him, commanding "Onward, my trusty steed!"

"Can't you take anything seriously?" Crispin questioned, starting up the van.

"Absolutely not! I dance on random people's graves weekly! You only live once, Witch! You only live once!" Danny said, eagerly turning on the radio and turning the volume as loud as it could go. Crispin cringed and tried to keep both hands on the wheel; the people in the back openly clamped their hands over their ears. Danny seemed to have no problem with the loud volume, creating even more noise by singing along.

"A-ha~! Caught you now~! Caught you red-handed in the biscuit tin~! Cost you to keep me quiet~!" Danny sang, bobbing his head back and forth.

Crispin cringed some more and mumbled "Well isn't this ironic..?"

The drive was loud and oh-so long. Danny had fun in his spot, though after awhile his dance moves settled down and he merely bobbed his head. His mouth never seemed to stop moving though. In the back, Rider tapped his foot impatiently while the other four sang along after their ears got used to the loud volume. Though they weren't as loud as Danny's voice, everyone could still be heard.

Occasionally, Danny looked over his seat to look at the Jades. His smile always grew when he saw his favorite four having fun, like they should be. He wasn't surprised to see Rider not joining the fun, still stuck in his serious Sapphire Cloak mindset. Crispin was even less thrilled with the idea of having fun on a job and would occasionally ask if Danny could turn the music off. Her answer was always the same.

Danny perked when he saw a sign that said 'Star City Exit: 1 Mile'. Leaning back in his seat, he was happy to notice that they were nearing their destination.

The rest of the ride was quiet in a loud way. Ezra, Kai, Gabe, and Milo quieted their voices more as they approached there target. Danny even lowered his voice some, though everyone could still hear it clearly as he bobbed his head back and forth. His green eyes shut sometime, thoughts drifting through his mind as his voice drifted through his lips.

Danny reopened his eyes Crispin parked the van. He turned the volume down, his voice dying out. With a smile, he looked into the back and cheerily said "Alright, let's go! Remember, if anybody asks about our crazy attire, we're all vampires that have a phobia of the moon. Yeah~!"

Ezra, Kai, Milo, and Gabe laughed, like expected. Rider rolled his eyes and Crispin sighed again. The seven got out of the car and Danny led them up to one of the rooftops, across said rooftops, and stopped only when the bank was in sight (how cliché and overused, the boy thought, but whatever).

Stopping beside the white-haired nineteen-year-old, Crispin said "Alright. We're here. Get our orders from King so we can get the plan ready."

"Oh, I didn't bring a com." Danny said, looking down at the blonde with a casual expression.

Crispin and Rider's mouths dropped open in complete shock. The four "cool" Jades also stared at their new leader in surprise, though their eyes also held a look of interest as they straightened.

"You forgot… What?" Crispin asked slowly, very afraid to hear the answer though she knew it was coming.

Danny shrugged, not as concerned as the former Crimson Cloak. "I didn't forget the com. I just left it sitting in my room, on my dresser. We don't need it. I've got a plan."

"That's the part that terrifies me." Crispin said worriedly.

Danny waved her off, not at all concerned by the lack of a certain device. He also wasn't offended that the girl didn't believe in him. It was a normal reaction to a Danny-plan-newbie. He was used to the fact that everyone thought he was an idiot without seeing him in action first.

"Ok, so the plan!" Danny said, clapping his hands together while his smile never wavered. "Our plan is… To do exactly what I did the first time I did a wonderful heist with you all! It'll be lots of fun, I promise!"

"It doesn't matter if it's fun!" Crispin reprimanded, earning an eye roll from her superior. "The bank is still open! We'll be seen!"

Danny tapped his mask. "We're wearing pieces of plastic that cover our face. Our identities are going to be fine. We learned this from my last performance. If we go inside when there are people, you'll feel the compelling need to go as fast as you can. I'm focusing on our time here. The faster we go in, the faster we get out. If we do this right, the cops won't have time to catch us."

"What about Green Arrow and his buddies? They work in this city." Rider stated, gesturing to the large buildings towering around them.

Danny smirked at him. "Oh my good little Whale Rider," Rider gave the white-haired male a strange look. "I've got that little detail all taken care of. Trust me; everything's all under control."

"We're dead." Crispin moaned.

"No we're not." Danny assured, though it wasn't a very good assurance because it was laced with such causality that no one could believe him. "Now, let's go onward my little followers! Hi-ho Silver, away~!" Danny sang as he jumped off the building, performing the same stunt from his first heist with the Cloaks. He did the necessary crashing through the window before getting all the hostages attention and making them fall to the ground while holding his AA-12 to their heads.

Danny clapped as the Sapphire and Jade Cloaks ran past him, yelling "Come on! Let's go! Hup-to, hup-to! Left, left, left-right-left, left, left-right-left! LET'S GO, PANSIES! WE DIDN'T PRIMP OUR HAIR TO GO AS FAST AS TURTLES."

The nineteen-year-old heard four laughs ring out at his voice, making him grin wildly. Some part of him wished Crispin and Rider would loosen up but he knew they wouldn't. Tightwads…

Danny grinned as his 'followers' exited the vault while carrying cash in their hands. "See! Wasn't that easy, Witch? Now we can head out of here and-"

_"You'll never catch me, Krabs! Not when I switch into... MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE!"_

Anime music quickly followed the age-old saying, which was also quickly followed by Danny scrambling to get his phone out of his pocket. Crispin watched him with a completely blank face and Rider stared, completely shocked. The Jades behind him were dying of laughter and the hostages weren't quiet sure what to think. Danny was also laughing, quite hysterically, and his jumbled in his hand while he tried to turn it off. "Hahahaha- Shut up, ring-tone! -ahahaha!"

The ice-wielder continued to stare while the ring-tone continue to play over and over and over again...

_"MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE!_" The music played again for about seven seconds. _"You'll never catch me, Krabs! Not when I switch into-"_

Danny finally chucked the phone out the broken window, hiding his face in his hands. Crispin's look was still the same as ever, along with Rider's, and the Jades were on the verge of dying from suffocation.

The Crimson Cloak held up his hands, containing his giggles under his breathe before finally calming completely. "Ok, that was an accident. It _really, truly_ was for once... But at least there aren't any cops!"

As if on cue, the wail of police sirens sounded in the distance."

"…" Crispin glared at the white-haired boy heatedly. "I _hate_ you."

Danny sighed, gesturing for the Jades and Sapphire to keep going. "Alright, which one of you hostages set off the silent alarm?" Danny asked casually, looking around the room. He pointed the AA-12 loosely at the clerk. "It was you, wasn't you? Come on, it was you. I know it. It was you. Right?" Fearfully, the clerk nodded. "I knew it… Oh well! Let's get out of here!"

The white-haired boy turned on his heel, not noticing how the other Cloaks had stiffened up while looking at their exit. As he finished turning, Danny's grin faded some. "Oh man! Is everyone screwing with me today or has karma finally found me, ready to take revenge and my soul?"

Black Canary face-palmed and Green Arrow looked at the boy strangely. "Uh, yeah, I think it's karma. Though I'm pretty sure karma doesn't take souls…"

"That's what they all say!" Danny yelled before shooting at the two with the AA-12, making them both dodge to the side and away from each other. He shot the other Cloaks a look while yelling "Get out of here! I'll catch up!"

The white-haired teen gave them no time to say anything in return as he shot forward, eagerly taking on Green Arrow. In his mind, he was half-hoping Batman would be able to see this via video-cameras sometime. He never did get to battle the Robin Hood wannabe like the Bat or Danny had wanted. He was going to make up for it now.

…wait; did Green Arrow even know who he was behind the mask?

Danny dove head-first right into hand to hand combat with the green-clad archer. He was instantly aware that his opponent was much better at that sort of fighting, as he had to use it every time he took on a villain. But that was ok. The nineteen-year-old had enough cheep tricks to keep surprising people for the rest of his life.

The white-haired teen ducked under one of Green Arrow's fist, quickly reaching up to grab it. He threw the Emerald Archer over his shoulder. Green Arrow slid across the tiled floor while Danny dodged to the side, trying to get away from a screeching Canary Cry. Still sliding away from the terrifying blonde, Danny shot a bright green blast at her. Canary easily sprung away, being even more agile than her partner.

Danny took his small opening to look around and make sure his Cloak buddies were gone. His green eyes found no sign of them still in the bank and nodded to himself once. He yelped and flattened himself against the ground as an arrow flew over his head. "HEY! Now that was rude, you jerk-off! Don't we know manners?"

"You're a villain." Green Arrow said, a smirk appearing on his face. Oh, so he _did_ know who was behind the mask… Danny's job just got ten times more amusing. "We don't have to be nice to you."

"Au contraire," Danny said, smirking behind his mask. "You have to be extra nice to me for that because you never know when I will sneak into your house in the middle of the night and cut your heart out."

Canary jumped out at him from the side, having snuck up while Danny was busy with checking and talking to the Emerald Archer. The white-haired male yelped as he was tackled roughly to the side. He used his feet to launch Canary off him and began shooting his shotgun around the room again. Both heroes took cover, avoiding getting hit with the bullets that would surely rip them a part. The hostages had long since found sanctuary behind the counters

Danny quickly got up, stopping the bullets from flying. Just as Green Arrow got out from his spot, another arrow notched and ready, he found Danny was already rushing at him. The male jumped over the Emerald Archer and spun in the air. As he came down, he yanked the hood of Green Arrow's hood over his face, quickly putting him in a chokehold that the archer struggled again. Danny whispered "Not time yet" before releasing and kicking him away. With a salute, he said "I'm-a gonna head out now! You all have fun making out or whatever you do!"

With that, Danny turned invisible and flew from the building. He flew back to the spot the van last was and saw the other Cloaks had already taken off. He shrugged, knowing it was better that they take off without him. Jumping into the air again, he flew after the van speeding back towards base. Danny smiled as he flew after, taking notice of the adrenaline running through his veins. The feeling was the same he got after every heist, only heightened. Being in control for once was a very nice change to taking orders.

He found he really didn't want to give that up. Danny had known for a long time that he was an adrenaline junkie, always looking for something to do and running his mouth because his energy was forever higher than it needed to be. Fighting ghosts and doing missions for Batman was always fun but it didn't provide the same release as getting away with something he shouldn't.

For the first time in awhile, Danny thought about going back to his old way of life. Dread filled the pit of his stomach and he frowned unhappily.

He didn't want to go back.

* * *

**Ok. So yesterday, your reviews made me realize something. _I am a frikkin idiot sometimes_. I forgot to add a very important detail (why is it always the most important?) back in ch... Something. It was the one where King found out. What I forgot to add was the simple fact that Danny's indifferentism and, occasionally, brutality led King to believe he could still use Danny as an asset, if he could just make him give up heroism. As we can see from this chapter and former ones, that doesn't seem to be too much of a problem... Now, I went back to add that very important detail I forgot so thank you for asking that one important question about what the heck King is doing. *thumbs up* Forgive me my mistakes. I've already got the next few chapters written and I'm getting kind of confused and forgetting stuff.**

**P.S. At my Grammy's. Updating schedule may get weird.**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following: _ActionBoy 87, xForeverGamerx, Sesshykiss, RedRose0123, Meyumi, Lili3sLov3r._**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following me: _Kilgaxe Lili3sLov3r._**

**Reviews:**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Oh gosh, if he was a telepath, he would burn the world down. XD**

**KainVixenheim: Yes, we understand Danny is a spy. Oh well! And yeah, pretty much.**

**Oblitus Angeli: It's alright! XD We will see why in a little bit! Yeah~! **

**Eirena Gaia: Aw, glad you're loving so much! And what shall King-y do? ...you have fun with that dissection...**

**KuriMaster13: Hiding in plain sight is pretty extraordinary. XD**

**Expergiscimini: Hehehe, yeah Danny's singing is pretty exceptional. XD Nope. It's just going to be Shadow.**

**Pegasus Sword Master: YES HE WOULD BE. Now that would be an awesome YouTube channel. Or... Maybe not?**

**Ninuhuju: It is fun. And really loud... But fun, nonetheless. XD We would prefer but after that explanation I just gave, it doesn't seem like that'll happen, huh?**

**Dani: XD It didn't really end well for anybody, now did it?**

**Guest of Honor: No, the heist did not quite happen that way. Oh well!**

**16ckelman: Yeah, that's cause I'm an idiot... Sorry.**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: Just read the A/N... *face-palm and sigh* But you're welcome! Love hearing that kind of thing!**

**Poohbearmorris: Who cares? Do it anyways! *dances***

**Karen: He might want an idiot brother. But he is unaware of this fact since he's Damian. XD**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: Hehehehe~! I was in a golf-cart with a bunch of guys. It was hysterical.**

**Popcornbubbles77: ...thanks you for that wonderful idea. XD**

**SomeItalian: Hm... Yes, I think you could think about it that way. XD Hope life is wonderful!**


	17. Promotion Demotion

Ch.17: Promotion Demotion

Superman stopped in the doorframe, looking around the gym for his friend. He spotted Bruce lifting weights in the far corner, face lacking any and all emotions. Sweat was streaming down his face and his skin was beat red. His arms shook against the strain of the weight he held tightly in hands, lifting up and down. Jaw clenched, his blue eyes stared intensely at the wall as if it were some horrible enemy he needed to defeat.

The Man of Steel clenched his own jaw before he relaxed, calling "Bruce!"

The Dark Knight's eyes instantly flickered over to his, silently asking the unasked question while holding the weights against his hips.

"Graveyard sent a transmission." Superman informed, refusing to call the white-haired boy by his real name. "You need to see it."

Bruce narrowed his eyes, setting the weights down and wiping the sweat off his face with a towel, relaxed. "Why? What did he send that's so important? I'm honestly surprised he hasn't found a way to contact us sooner so he could screw us all over again…"

"Bruce."

The ebony-haired man looked at his alien friend, noticing the way the other's jaw was set and how his eyes betrayed his feelings. Dread filled the pit of the human's stomach, shoulders slumping and muscles becoming taunt. "…what'd he do?"

Superman quietly led Bruce to the main room, where the large computer frame was waiting for them. A video was already up, set up at the beginning. Danny, in his ghost form, was smiling at them while his eyes sparkled in delight. The happy look wasn't unusual but Bruce was scared to find out what it meant this time around. Danny could smile at the most tragic things so easily sometimes.

The Dark Knight also noticed how the other Leaguers stood around the area. Mixed feelings were going through the crowd. Most were ticked; some were hurt and a little upset; even fewer were a mixture of both, not sure how to feel in such a conflicting situation.

Black Canary looked the most furious, having seen the boy personally not even a couple hours before. Green Arrow seemed to be in a state of complete shock, not understanding the sudden change of events.

Bruce stopped by the computer, pausing before he could press play. Superman waited patiently for his friend to start the clip, arms crossed over his chest while he bit his lip nervously, adverting his eyes every which way. This set the Dark Knight even more on edge. Superman being worried about his reaction wasn't completely uncommon, as Bruce wasn't the most predictable person in the world. But Superman couldn't even meet his eye? He always did, no matter the situation.

Hesitantly, Bruce started the clip with a shaky hand.

_"Hello~!"_ Danny sang, tilting his head and waving at the screen. _"Sup Justice League! How's life? Is it good? I don't know cause I'm not there to make it horrible. Though I do hope someone has taken my place in my absence to screw you all over. Wouldn't want you all to go all soft on me. That would mean I would have to retrain you into submission. We'll see next time I see you!_"

Bruce couldn't resist rolling his eyes at the screen. That _would_ be Danny's greeting.

The recording of Danny smiled a little wider and he laughed his childlike laughter. It almost seemed innocent but the boy couldn't keep out the devious spark in his green orbs. _"Though the next time we see each other may be a little while from now…"_

The Dark Knight could feel himself tense up.

_"I can practically feel your confusion… It's hilarious. Anyways, to answer the questions you want to undoubtedly ask me but can't since I'm a recording, all I've got to say is: consider me out of your hair! For good!"_ Danny said cheerily, flashing both of his thumbs at the screen. His white hair fell in his eyes but the boy didn't seem to notice.

Another pang of dread stabbed at Bruce.

_"I've decided that I'm just gonna stay with the Cloaks, annoying as they are. Screw my mission; screw heroism. We all know that wasn't my calling card. Being a pain in all of your necks is. What better way to do that than teaming up with the same pests you all are trying to take down by using me?" _Danny asked, still smiling as if he wasn't resigning himself to being a crook all over again.

Bruce hated the hurt that manifested in chest and stabbed at his feelings.

Danny's smile seemed to dim and he shrugged at the camera. His eyes weren't sparkling anymore. _"I know you all are going to be mad. I've heard I'm really good at that. None of you should feel shock though or hurt. It's not like any of you liked me anyways. To be truthful, I didn't really like any of you either… Guess the feeling is mutual then, huh?_

_ "Though I would just like to say something to Batman, since he is the one that has kept me grounded for some long…"_

Bruce tensed and his blue eyes became hard.

_"Thanks Batsy, for everything. You did good there for awhile." _Danny laughed breathlessly. _"Even I was almost convinced. But come on, you couldn't stop it the first time. You can't stop it this time. The only difference between the two times though is…" _Danny paused and shrugged. His eyes were adamant. _"This time I won't get caught. So… Goodbye, Bats."_ Danny saluted to the camera. _"Thank you all for watching this installment of 'Heroes Go Rogue'. Stay tuned for previews of our next episode."_

With a laugh and a click, the video died out. The absence left the screen blank and dark. Different options appeared around the edges of the screen, lit up in white.

Bruce stood there, still. Superman waited for the inevitable meltdown that was sure to come now that he found out what Danny had sent them a transmission for. The Man of Steel was surprised when Bruce emotionlessly asked "Did you trace the signal to where the video was broadcasted?"

"We did." Black Canary assured. "Couldn't trace it though. The signal was terminated somehow."

Bruce smashed his fist against the console, causing it to cave some. A few of the heroes flinched back while others were unsurprised by the violent action.

"Little rat…" Bruce hissed before he turned on his heel and stalked towards the portal. Though his expression was emotionless, the way his posture was stiff and ready to strike spoke all the levels of anger and hurt he was feeling. The Dark Knight didn't acknowledge the others as he continued to stalk away, fully prepared to hit something.

Superman stared after worriedly, a little scared to let his friend go on. An angry Bat loose on Gotham was not a good thing for the poor criminals running around, even if they deserved it. And what would happen if the Dark Knight took it just a little too far?

"Bruce, where are you going?" Superman called after his friend, being one of the few that weren't really afraid of the Bat.

The ebony-haired man shot a look over his shoulder. "We weren't the only ones that were touched with Danny's life. There are people who care about him. …they deserve to know what's happened."

Superman kept himself quiet while Bruce beamed himself down to Gotham. He could feel one of his other many friends walk up beside him. Superman looked at his Martian friend with solemn eyes. "Were there any signs we should've seen? To let us know that we should've pulled him out of the mission?"

J'onn nodded once. "There were many. They showed long before he even began the mission."

Superman's eyes widened.

"The way he stole when he was agitated, his compulsive lying, his indifference to heroics, skipping school… They were all signs of eventual relapse back into his old way of life. Batman constantly leading him on the path of right was the only thing that kept him from falling back into anything serious." J'onn explained, shrugging. "Without his guide, Danny walked astray from the path and has found himself right back where we started. If we were good protectors, we would've locked him up for good the first time."

Superman was silent, knowing his friend was right.

* * *

Batman sighed as he finished up his call with Sam and Tucker. Both had reacted the same way. They have immediately fallen into thoughtful silence before hanging up without so much as a goodbye. The Dark Knight hoped that didn't mean they were going to follow their friend's example and revert to their criminal ways, though it wouldn't much surprise him if they did.

Taking a breath, the vigilante began walking towards the Batmobile. The large tank of a car was waiting patiently to be used and was ready to be started up at any moment.

"Father? Where are you going?"

The Dark Knight turned around and looked at his son. Damian was standing on the steps leading up to the Manor. His face was a tad confused and a little angry, assuming Batman was about to go off on a mission without him. He had only been gone for a second, already knowing about Danny's sudden change of sides but wondering if a Justice League mission had come in such short time.

"I'm going to Jazz's home." Batman informed simply, waiting to see the younger's reaction.

Damian raised an eyebrow. "The rogue's sister?"

Batman nodded curtly.

"Why?" Damian asked. "It's not like she knows of his nighttime activities. She still hasn't even visited him in Las Vegas because he didn't want her seeing his place."

Batman sighed. "Yes, she is oblivious to most of his doings. However, she does know of his criminal record. She visited him when he was on death row. She's also aware he's been on 'probation', if you will. She deserves to know what's going on with her brother."

"Wouldn't that give his parents the same right?" Damian asked.

The Dark Knight took a breath. "Jazz will tell them. I'm sure of it."

Damian stared for a moment before he nodded. Batman nodded in acknowledgement back before turning and finishing his journey to his car. As he got in, he turned the ignition and the car started with a loud _ROAR_. He pressed down on the gas and took off quickly down the tunnel calmly, having gotten used to the fast speed a long time ago.

His drive across Gotham was quiet. There were no robberies, no break-ins, no shoot-offs, no nothing as far as he was aware. Batman didn't mind it too much, though he knew that meant there was going to be a bunch of crap to deal with later.

Batman pulled into one of the alleys near the psychiatrist's house and hid it with the hologram generator. Getting out, the Dark Knight looked over the townhouse and wondered which room the woman was in, if she was even up or there. Sometimes she worked graveyard shifts…

A light was on and shining out the window in one of the ground level rooms. All the bedrooms were on the second level.

Pulling his binoculars, Batman made sure it was Jazz before swooping down and sneaking in through one of the windows. He tiptoed to the office and slipped in, making sure to close the door behind him so no one would walk in during the time he was talking to the woman.

Though the kids might… Batman was only going on hoping they'd stay in their beds until he left.

Standing a good distance from where the woman was leaning over her desk while she looked through case files, Batman called "Jazz."

The orange-haired woman yelped and quickly spun around in her chair. Her glasses were leaning to one side, having been disturbed when she jumped. Jazz's eyes were wide behind the frames, once tired but now on full alert. Surprise overcame her features when she took in who her unexpected visitor was. "Batman? What are you doing here? If you need something involving any of the inmates-"

"It's not that." Batman quickly cut off. "It's about your brother."

Jazz scrunched her face in worry. "Danny? Why? What's wrong with him? Is he hurt? Oh please Lord no... Did he get into some kind of trouble again?"

"You could say that."

All the color drained from the girl's face and she slumped in her seat. "…what's he done? It's not too bad, right?"

Batman hesitated before speaking. "For the past year, he's been helping the Justice League out with some technological things. However, today the Justice League received a video from Danny. He's… Gone rogue again."

Jazz sighed before hiding her head in her hands, propping her elbows on her knees while her lips quivered. "Oh Danny, _why_?"

As the woman began to cry silently into her hands, the Dark Knight hesitantly stepped forward and laid a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

_Hours Earlier in Some Other Part of the Country…_

Danny sighed as he walked through the garage's double doors. His flight back had been quiet and he had thought about going back to his old life, dread flowing through his body faster the more he thought about it. How long would he have until he went back? They were going to expect him to get something on the Cloaks soon. He'd already been at it for a month, at least. How much longer before they began to get impatient?

The male was walking down the hall when Crispin found him. He was about to give her a 'good job for following orders' but she cut him off, saying that King wanted to see him with the rest of the team. Danny didn't think too much about it, knowing his 'forgetfulness' of the com was going to get him in some deep trouble, though he was confused why the rest of the team needed to be there.

Danny didn't bother to care over the churning of his stomach.

The walk to the throne room was quiet. Crispin was almost tempted to ask what was wrong but the silence was awkward. It almost felt like sacrilege to ask too because Danny was never quiet. If he wasn't making some sort of noise, it was only because something else was much more pressing. For this, the blonde stayed quiet.

The two entered the room and the attention of the other six was immediately drawn to the new noise. King watched them with his calculating blue-grey eyes at the base of the stairs while the others tilted their heads at the quietness surrounding the two Cloaks.

Crispin skirted away from the Crimson Cloak, joining the other five and standing beside Kai. With curious eyes, the small group watched Danny walk up to stand a few feet away from his leader. With a blank expression, Danny shrugged and asked "What?"

King raised an eyebrow at the lack of sass from the boy but didn't question it for the same reason Crispin did. "Good job on your first heist as Crimson Cloak."

Danny's expression settled into a glare. "Cut the crap. I'm not in the mood. Skip the frikkin formalities and say whatever you need to say. I want to go to my room."

Shock ran through the Beta Team at the dangerous tone. Their surprised eyes met each other's, wondering what was wrong with the usually cheery nineteen-year-old. King was also surprised with the snappy comeback, though he masked such emotions. "Alright then. I was wondering what your feelings on becoming Shadow Cloak were."

Danny narrowed his eyes. "I think I've made myself clear in the past… Why? Are you thinking about bumping me up already?"

"I might." King stated.

"What's the catch?" Danny asked, crossing his arms over his chest for comfort and tilting his head to the side. His glare suddenly became weary and his heart thumped loudly in his chest. His fight-or-flight instincts were telling him to leave, anxious to find out what was going on.

King shrugged. "I was only asking your feelings on the matter. And I said 'might'."

Danny slowly shook his head, slowly looking the other up and down for any signs of aggression. "No… That doesn't explain why the rest of the Betas are here. It doesn't explain why you had to ask. What do you want from me? Did you hear something from someone else? What..?"

The older man hummed. "Smart boy, catching on so fast. There is something I found out."

"What? When?" Danny questioned. His heart sounded like a loud drum and he could feel the vibrations from it through the rest of his body.

"I watched your fight with Green Arrow and Black Canary today." King said, avoiding the question entirely. Danny narrowed his eyes more as the older continued. "It was very impressive. I quite enjoyed watching it. You're very good."

"Just tell me what this has to do with anything." Danny demanded.

"It was good." King continued. "But they knew you too well, Phantom."

Danny shrugged, not seeing much of a problem with this observation. "So? I think I heard from someone that I'm high on the Justice League's wanted list or something. All the Leaguers study anyone that makes it high on the list so they know how to fight when they come across them. It's not uncommon knowledge."

"Yes." King drawled. "I'm aware."

Ezra, Crispin, Rider, Kai, Gabe, and Milo looked between the six of them before turning back to watch the conversation drawl on, curious and scared.

"Then what?" Danny asked, a desperate note crawling into his voice. "I'm not following! Just spit it out already."

"They knew you on a personal level, Phantom." King stated, voice hard. "You knew them as well. Back when you scared one of the other Crimson Cloaks half to death, I recognized the description you gave me of the power you possess. Why don't you tell your teammates the truth, Graveyard?"

All the Betas stiffened at the name, turning to look at the white-haired boy with wide eyes. Their shocked expressions were quick to turn to recognition before becoming fearful again.

Danny's heart stopped dead in his chest. For a minute, he didn't breath. He couldn't. The shock to his system was just a little too much. However, his heart did begin to beat again a few seconds later and his breathing started again as well. His shock melted into complete resignation. His cover was blown sky-high. There was nothing he could do about it.

A second later, the knowledge of his blown identity hit him and he saw an opportunity. A way out.

Danny shrugged at the older man. He quickly took the mask from his face and tossed it to the side, quickly followed by the AA-12 and Glock. He unclasped the cloak around his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor and pool around his feet. He zipped his suit off, revealing the vest under, as well as the tattoos, and the black jeans with green and white stitching up the sides. Danny flipped the hood of his vest hood up, shadowing his face instantly.

King raised an eyebrow at the full transformation while the Cloaks' mouths dropped open, shocked all over again.

"Yeah. I'm Graveyard." Danny stated, shrugging again. The frown on his face was prominent at the simple statement. "But it's not really me."

"What do you mean?" King questioned dryly.

"I'm not a hero." Danny said. "If you couldn't tell from my headlines, people have never really trusted me. And if you look before that, you'll know that being bad is just my thing. Grew up doing it. I don't know how to do anything else. Keep me around for a little longer. I'll be a perfect little soldier or whatever you want me to be. I don't want to keep playing hero."

King actually had the decency to look shocked. The rest of the Beta Team didn't know how to feel about Danny's plead, torn both ways in trusting him and not.

"How do I know you're not just acting?" King questioned, glaring at the shorter boy intensely.

Danny shrugged. "I'll tell you everything about how I got here. I'll tell you why I pretended to be a hero for the past year. I'll tell you the plan Batman created. If you couldn't tell from the headlines, he and I go back some… I was the kid on death row last year. He kinda saved me with 'conditions', which was how I got to be 'hero.'"

King's heated expression grew curious and he gestured for the boy to tell the story.

Danny did. He recounted his story, told him bluntly what the plan was, and about the stomach ache he got every time he thought about going back to his life with the heroes. His bluntness caused everyone to believe him easily, knowing if Danny was just telling a story he would be putting in exaggerated details. When he was to the point, you knew he wasn't lying.

The white-haired boy finished his story with time and stood there, waiting for the other's judgment. King turned on his heel, walked up the stairs, and disappeared behind his throne. While scrunching his eyebrows together, Danny looked at the other six and asked "What does that mean?"

They shrugged at him.

Within a few minutes, King had come back and walked down the stairs. He tossed something at the boy, waiting some paces away, and watched as the boy grappled to catch it. Once he had grabbed it, Danny stared down at the black cloth in his hands in amazement. Even the Betas were completely astonished by the form of promotion the white-haired male got.

"Shadow Cloak." King acknowledged, no clear expression on his face.

Danny grinned before quickly throwing on his Cloak attire again, clasping the black cloak around his shoulders. He quickly re-strapped the guns to his thigh and back before flipping the hood over his hair, saying "Ready~."

King snorted.

Danny laughed. "Hey Princess, I'm going to have to borrow the Wi-Fi for a little bit. Hope you don't mind."

The older man rolled his eyes. "Pray tell, why do you need it?"

"I kinda need to send the Justice League a message, if you know what I'm saying." Danny answered, grinning.

* * *

**I don't know what was the bigger sign this was gonna happen. The giant sticker on the summary that said 'criminal Danny' or the fact that he's been having these thoughts since chapters ago. Oh well!**

**I love how none of you denied that I was an idiot yesterday... XD *bursts into hysterical laughter***

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following: _Thrill-Pair-All-The-Way, Evadeen, Mirria1._**

**Reviews:**

**KainVixenheim: ...well, you ain't wrong. XD He is loving this just a little too much. XD**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: :D Now that's what I like to hear!**

**Expergiscimini: XD Pretty sure that's Jason's... Danny's is more like "You Only Live Half the Time" or something. XD**

**Roselin: That's Danny for ya. Glad to hear!**

**Sarra Torrens: I'm-a happy you thought it was hilarious. Hope Zumba was fun!**

**Pegasus Sword Master: If it goes away at all. I have a theory that, for some people, committing crimes can be an addiction.**

**Ninuhuju: XD I don't even know what that is but it sounds awesome.**

**KuriMaster13: ...that's one way to compliment him. XD**

**PHOENIX1020: Nice... I don't know that one.**

**Eirena Gaia: I figured you would. Everyone else, I'm not so sure about. Anywho, glad it went well!**

**16ckelman: Yeah... Pretty much. Batman has everlasting patience (most of the time) and has handled psychos in the past. King... Not so much.**

**Karen: Yeah, King's kind of an idiot and the hostages are traumatized forever. And yes, anguish! Who says death row is coming back though?**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: XD Oh, Danny always wins... And of course his ringtone went off, right? XD Yeah... I wish I would stop doing it...**

**PHOENIX1020: ...yeah, links don't really work on fanfiction...**

**Guest of Honor: Well, we see how that went... Oh well!**

**Dani: Aw, thanks so much! I'm so glad to hear about that! XD **

**Poohbearmorris: :D Yeah~! You are one of the few that appreciated that to that extent!**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: Eh, he got the memo late...**


	18. The Shadow Cloak

Ch.18: The Shadow Cloak

Danny stood up from his crouched position, looking up. The white lenses on his wolf mask gleamed in the moonlight shining down from the opening in the roof. With a wave of his hand, the criminal-turned-hero-turned-criminal gestured for the Cloak poking her head through the opening to follow after him, giving the all clear.

Crispin fell down after the boy, landing on the catwalk beside him like a cat. She got up quickly, ducking to the side and into the shadows. Her red cloak followed after her obediently, having no other option. Looking up, Crispin's arctic eyes watched Rider fall down after her, decked out in his old blue cloak. The Jades followed after their superiors quietly and without hesitation.

The new Shadow Cloak gestured for the Beta Team to follow his lead, leading them down the catwalk and to the main level. Danny quietly sprinted to one of the hallways, making sure it was the correct one with his lenses. The blueprints were flashing in front of his eyes and with a mumbled command, they shut down again.

Knowing he was going the right way, Danny led his team down the hallways at a quick pace. The others followed behind him quietly, aware of the fact that their leader was confident in his decisions. It wasn't hard to figure out with the way he held himself and how quickly he was weaving through the halls.

The white-haired male led them to a stairwell and quietly ushered the rest of the Cloaks in. Silently, he shut the door behind carefully. The smallest _click_ emitted from the door as it fell shut. Even so, the click echoed throughout the towering stairwell that went up and up and up. To the group of seven, it was the loudest sound they ever heard and they instinctively looked around to make sure no one had heard them.

Danny paid no mind to their instincts. Danny was already up half a dozen steps before the others decided to follow behind. The Cloaks raced up the steps with quick and quiet feet, trying to minimize the amount of sound they made but also trying to keep an even pace. The faster they grabbed their prize waiting for them, the faster they could leave the building and get back to the van. Once they were in the car, they could begin the long journey back to base.

Danny stopped them on the highest floor possible. The door was locked, though, and the Shadow Cloak held out his hand to Kai. The brunette pulled out a bobby-pin from her hair, placing it in Danny's hand. Having picked so many locks before, the white-haired boy had the lock undone within a few seconds. Danny handed the bobby-pin back to Kai and gestured for the others to listen to him.

"There are security guards always roaming this level." The Shadow Cloak whispered, gathering them close so he didn't make too much sound. "Whale Rider and Crispy," The two made exasperated gestures at their superior for using their ridiculous nicknames. "you two work the best. I want you guys to go to the end of this hall and make a racket once we're out of sight. Keep the guards attention until I come and get you, alright?"

Rider and Crispin glanced at each other. Looking back, Rider whispered "We got this."

Danny nodded before gesturing to the Jades. "You four are with me. I'm going to keep you all around as lookouts while I get the thing we're looking for. One of the guards might not go check out the ruckus because he knows the others have it taken care of and that others could be wandering about. They've seen this kind of thing before."

"They have?" Gabe whispered dryly, looking at his leader with an expression on his face that was easy to read, even behind the mask.

"…yeah." Danny whispered, bracing himself for the question to come.

Milo looked at his fellow Beta Team members before he questioned "And how do you know this?"

"I've invaded a couple of DALV Corp buildings with some friends before…" Danny whispered while chuckling nervously. "I've also got the scars to prove those incidents… They like to ache whenever it rains."

"What'd you do?!" Crispin whispered hysterically, looking at the taller boy with wide eyes.

Danny chuckled nervously again, giving the others a nervous look. "Uh… I kinda got tazzed. Long story short, my children, do not, under any circumstances, accidently fall out a window into the rain while you're still being tazzed. It only makes things worse. … And makes you go a little insane but whatever. I'm all good now."

"Your definition of 'all good' is drastically different from ours." Rider stated, shaking his head. Crispin had face-palmed in front of him while the Jades tried to muffle their laughter behind them.

"Shut up." Danny hissed while opening the door and ushering the Cloaks through. Obediently, they did. The group of seven had instantly fallen back into 'serious mode' once they got moving again, aware of what was at stake as they began moving. Their ears perked to hear any sounds of the security guards roaming around the hallways, unsuspecting of the youths currently invading.

Crispin and Rider eagerly sprinted to their spots at the end of one hall. Danny led the four Jades down the opposite one and they disappeared around a corner. Once they were gone, Crispin and Rider started screaming and hollering, banging on the walls and jumping all over the place. Rider got out his primary weapon and began shooting for extra measure, hoping to get the attention of all the guards.

Danny couldn't help but snort when he heard them going at it wholeheartedly. It only took a mission half-way across the country to get them to loosen up but he finally got them to do it. And to think, he thought they would never act crazy ever.

The Shadow Cloak led the Jade Cloaks around, dodging past the security guards going to check the gunshots in the distance. Danny smirked in victory when he and the others ducked into one of the chambers at the end of one of the halls. There was a desk for a secretary sitting in front of two large, French doors. A couple of armchairs were spread across the room, all accompanied with a table that held various magazines.

The nineteen-year-old gestured for the Jades to spread out around the room and guard the entrance. Carefully as he could, Danny tested the doorknob by turning the handle downwards to one of the French doorknobs. He cursed when it stopped, mocking him with the telltale sign that the doors were locked. Glaring at the doorknob and knowing there was no way to cover up that they had been there with the way the two other Cloaks were acting, Danny yanked the door handle up and broke it.

Silently, Danny slipped through the door and closed it behind him. It was his silent way of telling the Jades that he trusted them to watch his back while he rifted through Vlad Masters things.

Danny trotted over to the desk, lighting his hand up with ectoplasm to cast some light around the dark room. The moonlight drifting through the large window-wall wasn't consistent, falling in and out as the clouds drifted in front of the large, silver disk in the sky. The green light floated above his hand, never flickering with the amount of concentration Danny was pouring into it.

Quietly sitting in the plush arm chair sitting in front of the desk, Danny began looking through the drawers to the desk. He scanned through the many, many documents inside them, trying to find a specific one. None of the ones he wanted were appearing though, irritating the crap out of him. The nineteen-year-old was hoping to find them fast and escape from the building. However, the documents were not making themselves clear.

Danny searched through all the drawers as fast as he could. He didn't understand why the idiot Masters had so many documents just lying around, ready to be taken by someone like him. Having everything in one place was always a bad idea. The reason Danny was there was a prime example why. He thought Masters was a little smarter than this but, apparently, he had been wrong.

The nineteen-year-old got up and began scouring the office. He found a safe and searched through it but didn't find what he needed.

Growling, Danny looked around and searched through everything again. He was starting to wonder if the documents he was searching for weren't there and were at Master's mansion. Sure, it wouldn't be a problem getting there since the mansion was only half an hour from the building. The problem was going to be the security surrounding and inside the mansion. Someone had probably already set out an alert for the crazy, rambunctious kids shooting their guns around on the highest level of the DALV building. No doubt would it reach the mansion's occupant in just a few minutes, giving Masters enough time to shut everything up.

Danny looked at the laptop sitting quietly on the desk and wondered if, maybe, Masters had put it on there. He figured it was worth a try before he and the others began scouring the mansion for the documents.

Falling back in the chair, Danny booted the computer up, waiting impatiently for it to gain its bearings. Finally, it chimed, making Danny shush it before he began typing erratically, breaking through the password and firewalls easily. He looked through all the documents and folders on the computer, searching through all of them for the one thing he was looking for.

As he was passing the seventeenth folder, Danny stopped and went back a few scrolls. He reentered one of the folders and read the title of the one document inside it. Opening it up, he threw his arms up in victory before hitting the 'print' button. A box for a pass-code booted up. Danny glared at the screen furiously and pointed at it accusingly. "Screw you!"

The Shadow Cloak quickly typed in another hack code and smirked when the printer booted up. He tiptoed over and waited for the document to print impatiently, noticing how the gunshots were starting to get closer to his and the Jade Cloaks' area. He quietly asked the printer to go just a _little_ faster so he could escape and bounced anxiously while the printer kept its slow pace. Danny tried threatening it but that did not work either. The white-haired boy huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

Once the printer stopped making a physical copy of the document over three sheets of paper, Danny snatched them up, folded them, and slipped them into a pocket inside his cloak. Then he raced to the double doors and slipped out one of them, shutting it behind him quietly. He gestured for the Jades to follow him and, silently, they sprinted back to the stairwell. Danny ordered them to begin traveling towards the car and assured them that he and the other two were right behind him.

The four did as they were told, running down the stairwell and occasionally jumping between the rails to go faster.

While the Jades did as they were told, Danny was backtracking some to find the other two of the team he was leading. He found them running away from the security guards, ducking into various hallways and trying to shake them off their tail.

Danny slipped into the hallway behind the security guards, the AA-12 in his hand. With a small sweep of his arm, a long string of bullets blasted from the barrel of the shotgun and the various projectiles buried into the guard's legs. Blood splattered across the walls and the floor, pooling around their bodies. The amount of bullets they received to each leg varied between each guard.

"Stairwell, now!" Danny yelled at the two while running up beside them, stepping over the guards as he did. The two nodded before the small party took off down the hallway, weaving through a few more to get to the door. They burst through the door, slamming it open and not bothering to make it quiet as it shut. The three hopped onto the railings, jumping between each to minimize their escape time.

Rider was just landing when Crispin was sprinting through the open door to the main level with Danny holding it open. He eagerly followed after with Danny running beside him. The three raced into the docking area, where their entrance was. The Jades were long gone, probably already at the van like Danny had told them.

As they were speeding through the center of the docking center, Danny suddenly grabbed Rider's and Crispin's arms before pulling them behind a truck. He gestured for them to stay quiet by pressing a finger to his lips before he closed his eyes, focusing on his hearing. The nineteen-year-old waited for a telltale sound that would alert him to another's presence.

"What is it?" Crispin whispered, leaning over his shoulder and nearing his ear.

Danny held up a finger in a quiet gesture again, waiting to see if he would hear someone stumble or even catch the sound of their boots clacking against the floor. However, no such sounds met his ears and, for a moment, he thought that maybe he was being just a little paranoid.

…or maybe they were waiting for one of them to move.

"I think I heard someone. Not a worker; they wouldn't disguise their steps." Danny answered, keeping his voice in a very low whisper as well. He was praying if his suspicions were correct, none of the heroes that were possibly stalking the building were like Superman or Martian Manhunter. If they were, hiding was useless and they were wasting time.

The Shadow Cloak breathed deeply for a moment before slipping the sheets of paper from his cloak, handing them to Crispin. Quietly, he ordered the two to get out when and if the hero(es) appeared to take him on. They nodded, not questioning his decision. His crazy plans always seemed to work. Why question them now?

Danny slipped out from behind the truck and walked a ways from it, trying to keep his teammates safe. The AA-12 still clasped tightly in his hand, ready to pull the trigger at a moment's notice. With a sweeping glance, his green eyes behind his mask tried to make out any shape of any heroes in the vicinity.

"If you're there, you can come out. I know you're hiding. If I'm yelling at air, I sound stupid and have officially found my way into Batman's area of paranoia." Danny called, falling into his signature hand-on-hip-gun-against-shoulder stance. His green eyes scanned the room again. The whites of his lenses gleamed in the dim light. The snarl on the mask was enough to scare anyone in the darkness. No one made themselves known, however. "Hello~? Anyone there? Please tell me I'm not going crazy… Er."

The white-haired boy felt one of the two Cloaks with him peek out from behind the truck, giving his back a questioning look. Carefully, he gestured for them to begin getting out. He heard a few small _clicks_ as Rider got on the truck, climbing up to the catwalk so he could get to the skylight. A rope was dangling from it, courtesy of the Jades that had escaped first.

"Come on, heroes! Isn't it tempting to bash my head in? If you didn't before, you must _really_ hate me now! How can I not look like fresh meat, people?" Danny called again, waving his arms around and noticing the _clicks_ that emitted from his semi-automatic shotgun. He turned in a circle, turning his back to Rider as he quickly climbed up the rope and disappeared out the mouth of the skylight.

As soon as Rider was gone, Crispin was climbing up the truck as quietly as her teammate. It took little time to climb up and onto the catwalk. She raced across, jumping onto the rope and swinging a little. She paid it little mind as she climbed up and out the skylight, all the while Danny called out to the possibly imaginary heroes. Once she was out, she pulled the rope out and closed the skylight, knowing full well that the boy could get out without any help.

Danny turned in another circle, fully aware both of the Cloaks had managed to get out without a problem. He was starting to feel uneasy with no one popping out from the shadows. As he began walking away, he called "I'm leaving now~! Last chance to catch me!"

No one popped up to take him down.

"Alright…" Danny mumbled uneasily before floating in the air and flying towards the roof, phasing through it easily. As soon as he was gone, the poor worker hiding behind a couple of boxes breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off his brow.

And to think, he had only come back to get his forgotten keys! He had never expected to hide from a bunch of crazy people!

Just as the worker was stepping out from behind the box, he yelped again when Flash zoomed in from the hallway that led back to the main building. He looked around in a flurry and spotted the terrified man. Quickly as he could, he sped up beside him and quickly asked "Haveyouseenabunchofpeopleincloaks?"

The man looked at the hero in confusion. "What?"

Flash took a breath before re-asking, slower this time "Have you seen a bunch of people in cloaks? They all wear masks and stuff? You know, the Cloaks?"

"Uh…" The man drawled, shocked. "Actually, yes. They just took off. Their leader, I think it was anyways, kept calling out for any heroes around. It was just me though."

"DANG IT!" Flash yelled before zooming out of the docking area, hoping to still be able to catch the Cloaks. He also yelled about how much he hated Superman for being off-world with some of the other Leaguers, knowing the Man of Steel might've been able to catch them before they left.

* * *

Danny, Crispin, and Rider jumped down from the fire escape and landed beside the van. Rider eagerly jumped in the open back with the Jades. As soon as he was in, Kai and Milo were slamming the doors behind him, yelling at their leaders in the front to get a move on.

Danny plunged into the driver's seat while Crispin quickly jumped into the passenger, both slamming the doors behind them. Danny snatched the keys from the blonde, as she was the one that drove them to Wisconsin. The nineteen-year-old slammed the key into the ignition before flipping it. The Shadow Cloak wasted no time in slamming his foot onto the gas, flooring the van and making everyone jerk back with a small scream.

The nineteen-year-old drove straight into traffic, not minding the other drivers as he sped them by. His eyes were deadest in front of him, watching out for the others cars so they didn't crash. He swiveled onto the highway, going a dangerous speed and passing cars like they were nothing.

"Why are we speeding?!" Crispin asked hysterically, holding onto her seat tightly.

Danny shrugged, turning sharply around another car. "I just want to get out of here as fast as we can. I'll slow down in a little bit. Dang it, I wish I had brought my bike instead!"

The Shadow Cloak continued speeding until they were miles outside of the Wisconsin town and slowly fell back to the legal limit, leaning back in his seat with a small breathe. The other Cloaks also un-tensed their muscles now that Danny wasn't breaking the law outside of theft.

Once everything was all settled down, Danny stripped of his mask so he could better use his peripheral vision. The others did as well, not bothering to put on their domino masks. It was just them in the van. There was nothing to worry about.

Danny smiled while glancing over at the Crimson Cloak by his side. "You got the papers?"

Crispin nodded, slipping the sheets from her cloak and showing them to Danny. He smirked at them, turning his eyes back towards the road. "Nice."

The silence that enveloped them easy but, even so, Danny turned on the radio. Having done it before in front of them, the white-haired boy sang along with the songs he knew. Occasionally, he heard a voice in the back singing with him. It was even rarer that he caught Crispin mumbling the words to herself.

Danny pulled off the highway at the next exit to get gas and let Crispin take the wheel as well. The other Cloaks, once they changed into some civvies in the back, went into the gas station and bought themselves some snacks. Milo also got Danny and Crispin their choice snacks, as they had asked him to.

Once they were all filled up with gas, snacks, and sodas, they all piled back into the van and Crispin carefully pulled onto the highway again. They drove nonstop back to California. Over the few days, they switched drivers when the one of them got tired and stopped at gas stations to refill and grab more food. Though they did stop at one diner because they all got tired of the crappy junk food they were eating.

Rider drove into the base's garage around one in the morning a few days after the heist, parking right next to Danny's new, black bike. All the Jades and Danny were dead asleep in the back, leaning against each other while pretending all of them were pillows. Crispin was asleep in the passenger seat, leaning against the window tiredly. Music played softly; the radio had never been turned off once during the entire trip.

The Sapphire Cloak turned the van off, shaking Crispin awake to let her know they were home. As she stirred, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked around, taking in her surroundings to match up with what Rider had told her. After, she clapped and called to the Cloaks in the back to get up since they were home.

It took a few minutes but all of the Cloaks did, eventually, wake up. Silently, they all trudged into the cool base and split up, heading straight for their rooms to go back to sleep. Crispin and Danny walked side-by-side down the halls. Since Danny had moved rooms because of his new status, their rooms were closest.

"You ready for beddy-bye?" Crispin asked, holding her Cloak outfit in her hands. Her civvies were hanging on her body at irregular angles, giving a ruffled appearance. Her blonde hair wasn't much better.

"Yup." Danny said, stretching. He made a grabby gesture with one of his hands at the girl. "But first I get the lovely task of delivering the document to King and going through the heist before I get to go to bed. Lucky me."

Crispin snorted before handing over the sheets of paper in her cloak, having replaced them some time during the few days, and saluting in a goodbye gesture, as they approaching her room. "You have fun with that, Computer Geek. I'm going to hug my pillow as I go to sleep."

Danny growled at her in annoyance as he kept going. He heard her tiredly run into her door before she actually got it to open, knocking her head against the wood and sighing in pain. He cackled when he heard, shooting a devious look over his shoulder. The blonde was flipping him off with a frown on her face as he walked away, walking quietly away to do his job.

The white-haired boy took a detour to the throne room, opening the door and stepping in quietly. Looking around, he saw that it was completely empty and praised the Lord, knowing that meant King was either doing something important or sleeping. Danny practically ran to his room, quickly changing into his night clothes before jumping into the bed. He was out before his head hit the pillow.

* * *

**Well... I see most of you don't enjoy Danny going back. Whoops. XD**

**Reviews:**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Well, I updated. Rant away.**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: XD Glad you think so! Yeah, General Olsen would be like that, wouldn't he..?**

**KuriMaster13: Well... You'll just have to read to find out what the heck Danny's doing, if he's acting or not, and all that other crap I'm keeping hidden from you guys because I suck... XD**

**Eirena Gaia: XD Haha, oh my gosh! I'm-a so happy you're enjoying so much! That's awesome! Almost to the end of school!**

**Popcornbubbles77: Yeah, there's no hidden message... None at all... I can tell you that right now... XD Danny's just being an idiot again. No surprise there.**

**Sarra Torrens: XD Yeah life~! Glad you enjoyed!**

**Oblitus Angeli: Why does everyone immediately assume secret message? XD Aw, thanks~! That makes me feel so special.**

**Karen: Hehehe~! Wake back up~! Another chapter is out~!  
**

**SomeItalian: Yes, that is how I operate. I'm ahead of you all by, like 4-5 chapters. XD**

**KainVixenheim: You're one of the few. XD And nice...**

**Guest of Honor: Yeah, very rarely do I change my mind about that kind of thing, especially when I have awesome scenes in my head for it... Go awesome scenes!**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: Yeah, buddy! You understand! *high-fives* No can beat Danny and his awesomeness! XD**

**16ckelman: Yeah... You ain't the only one. XD**

**Poohbearmorris: Really..? I was unpredictable..? ... SWEET! :D Oh my gosh, that means so much to me! I wish I could HUG YOU! :DDDD**

**Pegasus Sword Master: Yeah, I kinda made it serious and didn't want to break the spell... That would've been hilarious though. XD**

**Ninuhuju: Apparently everyone was in denial. XD *face-palm* Did I seriously make him that lovable as the irritating hero?**


	19. Sleeping Troubles, Long Talks

Ch.19: Sleeping Troubles, Long Talks

_Cr-r-reak…_

Danny's blue eyes cracked open and squinted at the light starting to enter his room. Drearily, he lay in his bed for a moment before sluggishly moving his arms under him, pushing him up. Looking above him and through his red bangs, he adjusted his eyes to look where his door was.

Wait a second… What was his head doing at the foot of the bed?

Danny didn't ponder the question, squinting at his bedroom door where the light was coming from. For a minute, he wondered why the door was open because he shut it when he walked through the frame, entering his room. That was hours ago. The next thought he had was that it was a prank from one of the Jades. This spawned into the thought that there was a serial killer out for his blood, hiding somewhere within the room or just outside the door. The he deliriously thought _I wonder why Batman opened my door. I'm not doing anything today. That placement test was last week._

His mind did not register the fact that it was April and his placement test was taken the year before in December, after he had been in school for a couple of months. They were confused why he knew so little for a sophomore and put him in classes that helped him catch up. It also didn't register that Batman didn't know where he was and was surely on the other side of the country, unable to open his door in the middle of the night for a nonexistent placement test.

The delirious thought of the Dark Knight opening his door solidified in his memory and became real. Danny surmised that if Batman needed him, he'd wake him up later. The Shadow Cloak turned on his side, putting his back to the door, and closed his eyes again, trying to get some more sleep.

The nineteen-year-old drifted in and out of consciousness but never fully reached sleep. As he started rising back to full consciousness, Danny cracked his eyes open again. With a small groan, he sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed. Standing on his feet, he wavered before walking to the door and peeking out, ready for a clown with a knife to jump out at him, though he was sure it was Batman that had opened the door. Danny didn't see anything and shut the door, casting the room back in darkness. The nineteen-year-old stumbled to his bed, falling in it easily. He slipped under the sheets he had pulled up from the sides of the bed and threw them over him, burying the side of his face in his pillow that had journeyed to the end of the bed with him while sighing contently.

With the thoughts of what he was supposed to do later that morning with Batman, Danny drifted back into a peaceful slumber.

His clock read **2:13**. It changed numbers for a little while before Danny awoke again at **2:41** to another ominous _cr-r-reak_ from his door.

The red-banged male opened his blue eyes again, feeling a tinge of annoyance at the light filtering through the opening again. His first thoughts drifted around the Jades messing with him again before they re-drifted to the killer clown theory, spiking fear in the pit of his stomach. It quickly faded and he wondered _Batman, what the heck are you doing? It's only six thirty…_

**2:42.**

With a sigh, Danny got up and wandered back to the door. He looked back into the hallway, turning his head to each side before falling back into the room. He closed the door and leaned against it, hearing a resounding _click_ come from the knob. It was something he hadn't heard earlier in the night or the first time he stumbled in his room, content to ignore the absence of the small sound for the eternal bliss his bed was promising him.

Danny turned around and looked back into the room, eyelids drooping over his blue orbs. Hesitantly, he looked around the room and half-expected the killer clown to jump out at him, waving the knife around and slashing at him from all sides. However, nothing jumped out at him with a weapon in hand. The male trudged back to bed, falling flat on his face before getting comfortable like he had beforehand.

In the darkness and calmingly quiet atmosphere, Danny breathed a sigh of relief before curling up in his blankets, one arm slung over the pillow next to one while his head rested on another. As soon as his eyes were shut, he was asleep again.

**2:44.**

* * *

The next time Danny opened his eyes, it wasn't because his door mysteriously creaked open again. As soon as his eyelids were open, all the exhaustion he had felt before mysteriously disappeared. His blue orbs flickered to the clock and saw the green numbers that blared **15:74**.

…seemed reasonable…

Not disturbed by the strange display of numbers, Danny threw the covers off of him and easily got up. He didn't bother to stretch, which is what he usually did when he got up. Without a thought, he walked to the door, opened it wide, and walked out without a second thought. Danny drifted down the halls, his expression blank but eyes alert. He walked to the throne room and walked in, looking around the large room with unimpressed eyes.

"King." Danny called, not noticing how his voice didn't bounce off the walls and come back. His voice sounded like he was in the smallest room possible, surrounded by a clutter of things that didn't bounce his voice like large space usually did. "Hey King, you said you wanted me? I've got coffee-candy!"

Danny waited a little longer, looking around the room with blank, blue eyes. The absence of the one person he was looking for didn't bother him. He really didn't feel anything, just empty.

In an instant, this empty feeling was replaced with fear as a large swarm of bats appeared out of nowhere. They screeched in his ear and scratched his face and arms. With a yelp, Danny fell to the floor on his knees and threw his arms over his head. He scrambled for the door, pushing it open. As he did, another swarm of bats entered through it and he screamed again, stumbling back.

_"Why can't you ever do anything right?! You're not _stupid_!"_

_"I'll do something right the day you get hit by a bus! Oh look, here comes the ten o'clock shuttle! _Go jump in front of it _for me, will ya?__!"_

* * *

Danny yelped as he bolted up from his lying position. The red-banged boy immediately squinted against the lights entering the room from the doorway _again_. He rubbed at them, trying to ease the aching they felt when he heard a small sound from the doorway. With a small look over his shoulder, he saw Milo standing awkwardly in the open door, hand on the knob and a nervous smile on his face.

Danny looked at the other ebony-haired boy incredulously. "Milo? What the heck are you doing in my room?"

Milo chuckled awkwardly. "Well, um, I woke up and was hungry so I went to the kitchen…"

* * *

_Milo tiptoed through the halls, making sure no one was around to hear him raid the kitchen. He was starving! Maybe he shouldn't have eaten only snack foods the day before… Oh well, food time._

_ The ebony-haired boy squeaked when he saw another figure at the end of the hall. He stayed still as a statue in the middle of the hall, wondering who it was that was wandering around at this hour. Sure, it could be another person in search of food or drink but, come on, Milo was pretty sure he was the only one who did midnight snacks… He thought, at least._

_ The figure briefly got caught in some light and Milo's eyes widened a fraction. "Phantom? What's up with your hair? I thought it was white…" Milo whispered, tilting his head to the side. He watched as Danny continued walking on, very confused. "Phantom? Where you going?"_

_ Milo followed after the wandering figure, wondering what the heck the taller form was doing. He called his name a dozen times and asked dozens of questions, wondering why the nineteen-year-old was running into doorframes and occasionally picking things up and moving them around._

_ The brown-eyed boy caught up to the other, grabbing his arm and turning him around. "Phantom, what is going on?"_

_ Glazed blue eyes stared at Milo blankly. "King gave me a job."_

_ Milo scrunched his face together in confusion. A job? In the middle of the night? Seriously? "What's the job?"_

_ Danny shrugged, still no real emotion in his blue orbs. With a cheery note in his voice, though no signs of the same happiness was in his eyes, he said "I don't know."_

_ Milo just stared at the other in complete and utter confusion. Something clinked in his brain and he muttered his mouth turned into an 'o.' "Oh, you're sleep-walking… That makes sense."_

_ "La-la-la-la-la-la-la-da-de-do-da-dee…" Danny muttered, bobbing his head every which way._

_ Milo shook his head before walking around the boy. He set his hands lightly on the taller boy's shoulders, pushing him down the hall and towards his room. "Ok Phantom, time to go back to bed. You're nightly excursion is now over. Please aboard the Delusional Express some other time."_

_ "Ok…" Danny answered, head still bobbing back and forth. Milo gently shepherded him to his room, guiding him back to his bed. He watched as Danny slipped under his covers and closed his eyes, settling into a quiet slumber and becoming very still. Milo nodded to himself before walking towards the door, grabbing the knob when there was a small yelp._

* * *

Danny stared at the boy in his doorway with an astonished expression. "I sleep-walk? Since when?"

Milo shrugged.

"Alright-y then…" Danny mumbled, settling back into his blankets while closing his eyes. "Well, thanks Milo. See you in the morning."

"Uh… Phantom, I have one question."

"Yeah?"

"Why is your hair and eyes different?"

Danny's eyes snapped up, a stupid look on his face. Oh _crap_, he had forgotten about that _tiny, little detail_...

With a nervous chuckle, Danny looked over his shoulder with an anxious smile. He rubbed the back of his neck while he did. "Uh… It's a hologram generator I built. Hides everything about my true form."

"Why do you wear it to bed..?" Milo asked, confused.

"Uh… It makes me feel better about myself?" Danny asked, looking every which way.

Milo began stepping out of the room. "…goodnight Phantom."

"Don't tell anyone, ok?"

"Sure. _Whatever you want_."

The door shut behind the brown-eyed Jade and Danny's head dropped to his pillow, groaning. He lifted his head out, sighing. He shrugged, turned on his side, and closed his eyes again. "Well, nothing I can do about it now. Oh well."

...

Danny opened his eyes again and squinted at the wall. "Bats tried to kill me with his bat powers while we fought in my dream... Of course..." Danny sighed, turned on his side, and attempted sleep for the umpteenth time. "Ah well, I'll just pray I don't run into Batsy anytime soon... That would be_ bad_..."

* * *

With the documents in his hand, Danny walked down the hallway with his black cloak following behind him. His green eyes were alert after a good breakfast and a blissfully hot shower. Nothing was more refreshing than good food and water drenching you to the bone.

The nineteen-year-old entered the computer room, instantly catching sight of King working on one of the spare computers off to the side. Danny was sure he had a bigger, better mainframe somewhere within the large complex but no one knew where. Maybe it was somewhere behind his throne, like the night he ranked him up to Shadow Cloak…

King glanced at him briefly before turning back to the computer. Without so much as a greeting, he asked "Do you have the documents I sent you out for?"

Danny nodded, walking up behind the older and passing them over. "Yup. Here they are."

King took them from his hand, glanced over them, and nodded once. He brought up a tab, no doubt doing something that involved the sheets of paper Danny brought with him. "Good job, Phantom."

The Shadow Cloak nodded his acknowledgement. "Anytime. Though I do have to ask… Why do you need Vlad Master's bank information and social security number? If you need money, you could send us out on another heist or have me hack someone's bank account. I'm aware that Vandal Savage has the biggest bank account I've ever seen. It probably has something to do with him being immortal and all…"

"No, this is alright." King assured. "Vlad Masters won't mind me taking some cash from him here and there…"

"…" Danny leaned against one of the tables, staring at his leader intently. "Are you sure? I mean, he's right up there with Lex Luthor, Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, Timothy Drake, and all of them losers… What's stopping him from reporting mysterious withdrawals that aren't getting approved by him? He could have a task force on it before even I could get rid of the evidence."

King waved off the observation. "No worries, Shadow. I've got something hanging above Masters' head. He won't dare call the authorities on me. But he does try to keep me from accessing his accounts, which is why I had to send you to retrieve the new information. This is the third time in six months I've had to send someone to get the information."

Danny's eyes brightened at the concept of blackmail. "OOO~, what do you got on him that's so bad?"

"It is none of your concern _or _your business." King stated, giving the excited boy a glare. Seeing as Danny was still curious and about to pester the crap out of him for the information, King continued "Don't you have anything else to do? All I wanted for you to do was drop off the papers."

"Nah. I still got a couple of minutes until I'm needed to oversee training. Other than that, the only duties you gave me were the occasional solo missions and the occasional join-a-team mission." Danny explained and shrugged. "I'm going to use this time to be curious in an irritating way… How much cash do you need? You send out a team almost every night. Isn't that enough?"

King looked at the interested boy with a dry expression in his eyes and under his mask. "No. Do you know how much it costs to keep this place running under the grid?"

"Mm… No." Danny answered, shaking his head.

"It takes _a lot_ of money. When the heists don't suffice, I pull some from Masters. He'll make up for it in a day with his companies anyhow, so it doesn't really matter how much I take from him." King explained, waving his hand around while continuing to look through the things flashing across the screen in front of him.

Danny tilted his head. "Why Masters? Couldn't you have done the same thing to a richer guy like, say, Bruce Wayne or Oliver Queen?"

King sighed in annoyance before glaring. "No."

"Why not?"

"Don't you have to go now?" King questioned, gesturing to the cloak hanging over the door-frame.

Danny pouted, his domino-mask seemingly dipping downwards in disappointment. Batting his eyes, Danny said in a childlike voice "But this is _so much more interesting_…"

King pointed to the door. Danny dropped his head and trudged out the door. The older man watched him, the boy opening the door and the slab falling shut behind him. With a sigh and his glare melting away quickly, King looked back towards his work and began the process of withdrawing some cash from Masters into his shady Cloak account.

* * *

Crispin looked away from the sparring Jades and looked to where Danny was sitting on the ground by table that usually held the laptop that controlled the music. The tunes weren't on today and Danny wasn't bothering to participate in the activities or even watch what the others were doing. He was absorbed in whatever was flickering across the screen in front of him.

The Crimson Cloak looked around the room, watching the others glance at the boy before looking away. She huffed, blowing her loose blonde hair around. Crispin knew she was the only one that would dare approach the Shadow Cloak since she had, at one time, been his superior. The girl also found it a lot easier to approach the male once he had been moved up to his rank and spilled everything he about his hero life.

Once everything was out in the open, Danny actually seemed to calm considerably. Sure, he was still annoying as ever but he didn't go all out like before. No, he let you be irritated with him for awhile before you realized just _exactly_ what it was that he said to you, letting it fester inside your mind and irritate you more.

After another huff, Crispin stalked over to where the boy was and stopped in front of him. He pressed something on the computer before looking up at her with a smile. "Yes, Witch? Is there something you need?"

"This is one of the two jobs King gave you and you can't even do it right? Really?" Crispin asked. This was her own little way of getting back at him for being such a pest: busting his balls whenever she could. "What are you doing that's so important?"

"Watching porn-o."

"OH, why couldn't you have lied?!"

Danny laughed and showed her his screen. "I did! I was messing with you!"

Crispin sighed for a long time, knowing she would never truly get revenge if the boy in question had a say about it. Looking at the screen, she saw a website was up for the 'Henry Stickman' game series. It had horrible graphics and only had four games, all involving breaking into something or breaking out (from prison, of course). The smile of the boy's face was huge and he looked _so excited_.

The ice-wielder glared at the boy giving her the biggest grin she had ever seen in her life. "…you're _an idiot_."

Danny continued to smile at her. "Your point?"

Crispin groaned, rolled her eyes, and wandered back over to the sparring mats. Danny waved after her before smiling at his screen and continuing with whatever he was doing. As he played around, he got an alert from King and opened it instantly. It plainly said he wanted him working on another heist with the Omega Team. Danny rolled his eyes. "Wonderful."

* * *

**That first part might be confusing to some... Basically, when the door opened by itself twice, he was awake. The rest was a dream. Some might not get the memo, which is why I'm explaining so no one asks.**

**And last but certainly not least... I'M GOING TO COMIC CON SATURDAY WITH SOME OF MY GYM BUDDIES! IT'S GOING TO BE GREAT! ONE'S RED HOOD, THE OTHER'S MAGNETO, AND I'M ROBIN! YYYEEEAAAHHH!**

**Reviews:**

**Guest of Honor: Oh, the irony of that statement is just _beautiful_... XD**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: XD Haha! Awesome rant. Glad to hear!**

**KainVixenheim: Dude, I think you need to calm down and just enjoy the show. It gets a lot more interesting from here. XD**

**KuriMaster13: So far, you are the only one who has pitied the worker... XD It took forever but he finally did it!**

**Roselin: XD Aw, thanks~! Ironically enough, I read your review and began thinking of a sarcastic quote...**

**Eirena Gaia: Dude, I'm starting to believe the only reason I'm writing this is for you and my awesome buddy. Just you two though. XD Love ya! Hope to see the story out soon!**

**Oblitus Angeli: Ok then... XD Yup, DALV and Vlad have made an appearance! :D Yeah, the logic just don't make sense, sorry... XD And... Wally, because Dick is Nightwing and the other Robins are exist. XD *thumbs up***

**Expergiscimini: That he will be and what are we gonna do with poor Flash?**

**Karen: Yup. Crispy hit the door and the worker managed to hide from the superstitious Danny. XD Glad you enjoyed!**

**Pegasus Sword Master: You are one of the few who pities the poor worker. XD CRAZY FOREVER!**

**Dani: XD Glad you enjoyed all of the humor I decided to throw in here! Amazingly enough, there's one other person who enjoys the criminal side of Danny. His name is Eirena Gaia and you two would make great friends. XD**

**Poohbearmorris: *hugs* :D If I had friends besides the ones out of state, I would look forward to the same. :D It is?! Sweet. I love trying to take ideas and put them in a different form. Even if others hate it, I did better than those others...? (Where was I going with that? XD)**

**16ckelman: That's ok. Confliction is perfectly ok. XD**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: Of course Danny is too awesome. He's just that way. XD Sam and Tucker are gonna appear again soon. No worries!**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: Yup. They'll appear in a little bit!**

**Popcornbubbles77: Because he's just that way. XD He hated the Cloaks because of his position, but not necessarily the crime... Then he transitioned into liking them a little bit the farther along he got. *shrugs***

**Ninuhuju: Because that would be something he would do.**

**SweetyKinz: I FRIKKIN LOVE YOU A TON RIGHT NOW. XD Here, have a new lung. *hands you dripping lung* All of your laughing made me die laughing and I FRIKKIN LOVE YOU~! AND I CAN SEE THIS CAUSE WE SKYPE! XD**


	20. The Lives I've Touched

Ch.20: The Live I've Touched

Sam and Tucker sat in an awkward silence at the casino the former sang at almost every night as a job. Both had full glasses of alcoholic drinks in front of them: Tucker had beer and Sam had red wine. Both didn't know what to say to the other, feeling a little lost with the third member of the trio gone. The absence of Danny's never-ending mouth was something most would praise but the two missed dearly, as they loved hearing his voice and sarcasm always. It was just so endearing; it was the same way the boys loved Sam's violent tendencies and Sam and Danny loved Tucker being the oblivious one.

Sam's amethyst eyes glanced at the boy beside her, running her finger around the rim of her glass. As she looked back into her glass and admired the way the red liquid looked similar to blood, she missed the way Tucker's turquoise eyes glanced at her before journeying back to his own glass, watching the amber liquid bubble while the foam sat gently on top of the drink. Both drinks enticed the payer to drink from them, to not waste the precious stolen money they used. However, the two nineteen-year-olds didn't feel up to getting buzzed and just watched their drinks with deepening stares.

"So…" Sam drawled, still dragging her finger around the edge of her glass. "Did you do anything interesting today?"

Tucker hummed and shook his head in a negative way. "Not really. How 'bout you, Sam? Did you do anything of interest today?"

Sam shook her head the same way her cocoa-skinned friend had, staring deep into her glass. "No. I went to school because I had nothing to do. No one misses us, which isn't surprising. The day was completely and utterly boring…"

"Yeah. I figured." Tucker stated, shrugging. He took a sip of from the mug in front of him but his drink was tasteless and unsatisfying. "Do all the teachers think of us as a lost cause finally or are they still hoping we'll all magically appear as one group again?"

Sam snorted, a small smile appearing on her lips as she thought above their teachers whom they all despised with a burning passion. "Oh, we were considered a lost cause way back in week two, I think it was. All the other idiots in the class have deemed us the same way. Actually… I think we were lost causes the first week we ever went to school."

Tucker let out a small laugh. "Ha! That honestly wouldn't surprise me with the way we acted! I think we would find ourselves to be losers, if you think about it!"

"Oh, I definitely would." Sam assured, grinning at her friend with purple lips. The two laughed together, feeling a little better about themselves before they calmed. The two drifted back into silence, staring down at their beverages with even increasing disinterest. The two both breathed long sighs, glancing at each other occasionally again.

The bartender walked over, half-expecting to give the two refills before he noticed they drinks had hardly been touched. He looked between the two sitting at the bar and asked "You two ok? Usually you're all up for seconds by now."

Tucker grinned at the bartender reassuringly. "It's fine, Gary. We both just had rough days. Nothing to worry too much about. Promise."

The bartender, Gary, glanced between the two suspiciously. Rough days for the Blue Moon Trio usually meant drinking through the night before Gary stopped giving them drinks, too scared they would get drunk, drive their bikes around, and get killed. Rough days did not mean a lack of interest in alcohol.

"So where's Danny?" Gary commented, looking around as if the boy would magically appear from behind a slot machine. The phantom would walk over, smile, laugh, and order his own drink before beginning to goof around with his friends. "It's been awhile since I've last seen him."

Sam smiled uneasily. "He got a new job. It requires him to travel a lot. He doesn't get much time off and he's trying to impress his boss. Already got a promotion in the small time he's been there. Isn't that awesome, Gary? Our little boy, all grown up!"

Gary snorted. "That's wonderful, Sam. What's this job of his that he loves so much?"

"He's a… Bank inspector." Tucker answered, smiling nervously and tilting his head to the side.

Gary raised an eyebrow at that.

"Yeah." Sam agreed, nodding her head. "He, uh, inspects banks. Occasionally, he gets permission to count the money they bring in and stuff… He works for a small company that only has about a dozen teams that work around the country. They're not big or anything…"

"Uh…" Gary drawled, looking between the two in confusion. "Alright-y then… Next time you see him, tell him I said congrats."

Tucker saluted. "Oh, no worries, Gary. We'll make sure to tell him."

Gary nodded hesitantly before walking off, going over to a couple on a date and asking what they desired that night.

As soon as he was gone, Sam whirled on Tucker, saying "Really? Bank inspector?! Is that even a thing?!"

Tucker dropped his head into his arms, groaning at his stupidity. "Probably not."

Sam sighed, mumbling "And this is why Danny was our lie logger…"

The two fell back into silence: Tucker with his head in his arms and Sam hiding her face with her hands. The two stayed like that for a while again. They both perked when they heard something about the Cloaks on the TV mounted on the wall. Both looked at it, they watched it play the most recent of break-ins they had done: a DALV Corp building.

They briefly showed some video footage, showing the team of six being led by a glowing figure in a snarling wolf mask, dressed in a dark cloak that flew behind him as he ran around. The other Cloaks didn't seem nearly impressive as the dark-cloaked boy to the two friends. Danny was so much more intimidating and memorable.

Sam sighed, staring at the screen with sad, violet eyes. "I miss him."

Tucker patted her back before rubbing it in a soothing gesture meant to relax her. "I do too, Sam."

"Think we'll see him anytime soon? You know, personally?"

"…I don't know."

* * *

Jazz sighed as she fell into her seat beside the bar, rubbing her face as she took her glasses off her face and setting them of the table. Her orange hair was wet and straight, having just been combed. She would've dried it but didn't feel quite up to the task. Maybe she would have Kellie play with it later and style it in some wacky way, as young girls tended to do to amuse themselves.

The woman looked up when someone placed a cup of tea down in front of her. With a smile, she thanked him and took a sip, savoring the warmth and the taste that she gathered from the sweet liquid. Setting it back down, she smiled at her husband pleasantly while he gazed at her curiously. "Yes Rob?"

"Is everything alright?" The graying-haired man asked, leaning on the counter across from Jazz. His smile was friendly and inviting, though it couldn't hide the underlying concern laid within the depths of his eyes. Robert was more than aware of Danny's sudden shift in loyalties. The news had been a hard truth for Jazz to accept but, at the same time, _no it wasn't_. Danny the unpredictable little rat sure could be iffy with that kind of thing. There were some things the ones Danny loved had to pray hard about so he didn't get caught up in these bad things.

Jazz hummed, her tired smile still playing on her face as she drummed her fingers against the table in front of her. "I'm doing perfectly fine, Hubby."

Robert snorted at the teasing nickname, shaking his head and letting it drop. Looking back up, his loving but knowing smile was still there while he looked at his wife expectantly. "Now, if I remember correctly, you hate the word 'fine' because of your profession. Am I wrong?"

"Nope." Jazz answered, propping her chin on one of her dainty hands. "I despise that word. That should make you blieve that everything is _fine_ with me. Why would I use a word I hate unless I'm serious about the context I'm using it with?"

"Maybe because you're trying to use the same technique your patients use?" Robert asked, though he was sure his answer was correct. His wife had explained a lot of psychology to him over the years and he was sure he was remembering the things she said correctly. He had even read one of those 'Psychology for Dummies' books that helped beginners out. That kind of thing happened when you married someone with a major in psychology.

Jazz sighed but kept her smile still on her face, though she knew how strained it was becoming. The orange-haired woman took another gulp from the mug in front of her, savoring the taste that flooded her mouth all over again. "Yeah… I'm still finding it a little hard to believe, you know?"

Robert wisely kept to himself that he had actually been waiting for something like this to happen ever since the day Danny showed up at his house. That little troublemaker gave him the creeps even to this day. "Yeah, I know."

"You lie."

…sometimes he forgot that Jazz could see through his lies like they were nothing more than glass. It's why it was so hard to surprise her some days.

"Ok, yeah." Robert admitted, shrugging. Jazz was giving him a not amused look while she waited to hear his excuse. "But if you haven't noticed, he likes to push my buttons or creep me out. Sometimes both. I haven't gotten to know him on a level you have. Danny is much more open with you than he is the rest of us in this weird, dysfunctional family."

Jazz couldn't deny that fact. Her conversations with Danny were always long and, though he never outright said anything about his life, she was able to piece some things together about his life. She always found a new side to the boy's personality every time they saw each other, though there was some things she didn't like seeing, like how his more prominent side of his personality under all the sarcasm was nothing more than hatred he kept lugging around. The woman was always working with him on it, though he was unaware.

"I know what you mean." Jazz admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "And it's because of the knowledge of who is he that makes it hard, though I know not everything about him is good. You know, I've seen the toddler version of him once or twice when he was over. I didn't even notice until he went back to shouting out unnecessary observations and sarcastic remarks."

"It's still so hard to imagine him innocent…" Robert commented, shaking his head slowly. Looking up again, he saw his wife was glaring at him. Quickly, the man threw his hands up in a defensive way, saying "What?!"

"Really?" Jazz questioned. The drumming of her fingers suddenly sounded more defined and ominous. "Really, Rob?"

"I'm just saying!" Robert defended. "You saw him when he was little! I've only seen a couple of pictures! My mental image of him as a kid is always laughing sinisterly, tapping his fingers together before he chucks a bomb at someone!"

Jazz stared at her husband with one of her _looks_. The drumming of her fingers was becoming ever more pointed and dangerous with each passing sentence. "You know, if I were anyone else, you would be on your way to Arkham Asylum, correct? That kind of image of a child points to paranoia."

"Come on, Babe…" Robert started nervously, eyes shifting in every direction. "You know you love me."

"Pushing it."

Robert clasped his hands in front of him and, with a pleading look, said "Please don't divorce me, oh wonderful wife."

Jazz snorted and leaned back in her chair. The two perked when a bunch of giggles sounded from the stairwell, quickly followed by the two children of the house. The kids raced out of the stairwell and down the hall. Levi was chasing Kellie around with soapy hands, stray bubbles flying off his hands and landing on the floor before all the bubbles popped and left a wet spot across the floor.

Jazz turned to her husband, pointing at the two. "What were they doing up there?!"

Robert shrugged, not understanding how Levi's hands were suddenly covered in soap and bubbles.

Kellie quickly raced to her mother and crawled in her lap, her black hair falling in her face while she giggled. The girl threw her arms around the woman's neck, not noticing the smile on Jazz's face. "Mommy's base, Levi!"

"Excuse me? I'm what now?"

Levi stopped in front of his mother, not daring to try and crawl after his sister with his wet hands. He whined, though giggles broke through every couple of seconds.

Robert, with a smirk, walked up behind Levi and picked him up. "Alright, how 'bout we get your hands all washed off?"

"But I'm chasing Kellie!"

"And getting the carpet wet."

Levi looked at the trail of water spots behind him, staring at them with guilty, wide eyes. He smiled and laughed when his father picked him up, carrying him to the kitchen sink to wash all the soap off and dry his hands afterwards.

Kellie looked at her mother expectantly. "Mommy, when's Uncle Danny coming over next?"

Jazz's smile instantly became strained again while Robert perked to hear her answer."Uh, I'm not sure, Kellie. It might be awhile though. Uncle Danny's doing things right now."

"Like what?" The black-haired girl asked.

Jazz scrambled to think of an answer that wouldn't upset her child. "Well… He's working for someone and making them money. It's a very long job and he hardly ever gets off."

"Aw~." Kellie whined.

Robert looked at his wife suspiciously. All Jazz had bothered to tell him about Danny's current situation was that he was doing less than legal activities again that were outside of the occasional 'clubbing', stealing, and underage drinking. What those activities were, he was unsure. Jazz had told him that she knew but didn't want him to know, simply for the fact Danny had always worked with strange people in a strange business. Robert couldn't figure out what that meant.

"I feel the same way." Jazz said to her daughter uneasily, brushing the hair out of her face.

* * *

Vlad Masters sighed as he rubbed his temples, watching the officers leave the office of his building. They had been there all morning and, even though Vlad had a pretty good idea of who was in his office, he left them to do their job. The case would undoubtedly go unsolved, since everything was still in the office and there were no finger-prints anywhere. Whoever tried ransacking it obviously had gloves on.

Once the detectives and officers were out of his office, Vlad waltzed over to his desk, fell in the chair, and began going through his drawers. The papers he had had in them were all scattered and messy. The paperwork had been recently sorted too, which angered the billionaire to no end.

If they had to go through his things, couldn't they _at least_ put the paperwork back where it originally belonged?

Vlad sarcastically answered himself, thinking: No-o-o_, of course not_. _That would be_ too hard _for a bunch of thieves in a hurry_.

The white-haired billionaire began the painfully long process of digging all the paperwork out of the drawers, spreading them out across the desk in front of him. Vlad found the process of sorting was just as irritating as the first time he had done it. Actually, it was much more frustrating than the first time.

While separating the sheets, Vlad wondered, not for the first time, how to kill the pest always buzzing around his head. Nothing that involved him staying out of jail came to mind though. No matter how he looked at it, the other always had that one thing hanging over his head. One day, Vlad was sure it was going to come out. It was just a matter of how long he could postpone it.

There was a knock on the door and an innocent "Mr. Masters, may I come in?"

Vlad set the papers in his hands down on the desk. "Yes Delia. Come on in."

A young brunette carefully opened one of the doors while quietly closing it behind her. With a few folders in hand, she walked over to stand in front of his desk, adjusting the glasses on her face. "Good morning. Are we going to run through the day like usual or would you want me to do something else?"

Vlad gestured for the girl, Delia, to continue with their usual, daily routine, even though the beginning of the day had been anything but normal.

* * *

Bruce started with blank blue eyes at the laptop screen in front of him; his brain didn't register the emails filling his work email up. One arm was propped on the arm of his chair, his head resting on his hand. The billionaire used his foot to rock himself back and forth; unaware he was doing the action at all. He stirred when the intercom on his phone went on, grabbing his attention instantly.

"_Mr. Wayne, Damian is here. Can I send him in?"_

Bruce reached out and tapped one of the buttons. "Go ahead, Stacy. I'm not doing anything important." _I'm not doing anything _at all_._

_ "Ok._"

The door opened a second later and Damian walked in with a backpack over his shoulder, a blank expression on his face. He closed the door behind and greeted "Father."

"Hello Damian. How was school?" Bruce asked, choosing to ignore how his emails were steadily growing to ridiculous numbers. He'd work on them later but chatting with his son seemed much more interesting at the time.

Damian shrugged, setting the backpack down on one of the sofas and walking over to stand beside Bruce as he swiveled his chair around to face him. Leaning against the desk, Damian said "It was school. What else do you need to know about it?"

"I ask because I want to see if you had a good day." Bruce stated, a small smile starting to grace his face.

Damian scoffed. "The day that happens is the day the Joker becomes sane."

"So never?"

"Exactly."

Bruce snorted, shaking his head at his son. Damian rolled his eyes at the older's response before refocusing on his face. "Has any more news on the rogue appeared? I didn't have time to look today."

The Dark Knight nodded, grin easily turning into a frown as he turned his chair towards his computer. "Not surprisingly, yes… Last night, he and one of the teams hit one of Vlad Masters DALV Corp buildings. All security guards were wounded. For the first time since Danny's cutting of ties, the entire team was caught on video-tape." As he finished the small debrief, Bruce brought up the news footage of the heist.

Damian watched with a frown of his own. "…he's wearing a black cloak this time. And his wolf mask is back. Has he already been raised to another rank, if that is what the cloaks symbolize?"

"It's possible." Bruce stated, shrugging. "But we can't be sure."

The ten-year-old crossed his arms over his chest. "I do not like this."

"Neither do I, Damian." Bruce stated, clamping the boy on the shoulder. "Neither do I."

* * *

**I hated writing this chapter because I was looking forward to tomorrow's _so much_. Now, next chapter, we're also going to begin wrapping this story up. The end game is pretty much starting. Yeah!**

**I'M-A WRITING THE EPILOGUE TODAY. I'M-A SO HAPPY.**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following me: _Emmarocks12469._**

**Reviews: **

**Poohbearmorris: YEAH, IT'S GONNA BE FRIGGIN AWESOME! I CAN'T WAIT! XD Awesome! Almost there, my friend!**

**KuriMaster13: Oh, just a little on the first two points. And you're the only one, you were just the first. ...then again, not many people rooted for him either...somewhere around, like, four out of twenty reviewers or something, you included. Yeah, heartless sounds about right.**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Yeah, I can't wait! And that sounds like fun! ;D I shall update! No worries!**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: Oh my gosh, I'm super excited for comic con. Can't wait. XD No, it's entirely sleep-walking for no real reason. My sister used to do it all the time. XD**

**Eirena Gaia: XD My friend is awesome. And so are you! *thumbs up* Aw, you'll probably do fine~! Don't worry about it!**

**Jaybird Blu: I shall! :D**

**SomeItalian: I can't wait for comic con... XD And yeah, I got it but I'm only allowed to use it to contact my friend in another state. That's it. *shrugs***

**Sarra Torrens: Danke!**

**Karen: Or he's simply terrified of Batsy whooping his butt. XD**

**Roselin: Yup. That's Danny for ya! :D And that would be part of their fight.**

**Oblitus Angeli: Danke~! And, whenever you get a costume, I bet it'll look awesome. :D Aw, glad you thought so because you're right. There is no logic in that. People do weird things when their psyche is messed with. XD ...what new ship?**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: They would never be forgotten! XD Yeah, Danny's an idiot sometimes... As for your question, we shall find out soon enough. :D**

**Popcornbubbles77: Aw, you too! :D Glad you love criminal Danny as well! Yeah, King kind of blows it, doesn't he? King knows something but we'll have to find out later... :D *laughs* Awkward indeed!**

**SweetyKinz: Hehe~! My sister used to sleepwalk. That conversation with the job thing? That happened to me with my sister. XD Night is creepy... And fantastic. GLAD YOU ENJOY MILO. Wow, you just summed that conversation down really fast. XD Omega Team is just another random team.**

**16ckelman: Hehehehe~! That would be a Danny-thing, wouldn't it? XD**

**Ninuhuju: Yeah psychological stuff! :D**

**Pegasus Sword Master: ...I have to look up who that character is now... I shall!**


	21. Dominos Falling Down

Ch.21: Dominos Falling Down

Danny hummed quietly to himself while Crispin continued speaking next to him, going through the plan King gave her to give him. The leader of the Cloaks, King, would've given Danny the plan directly but Danny never used his com. When he did, he was merely telling King something, usually sarcastic, before turning it off or changing the channel.

The white-haired boy was watching the Drake Industries building with interest next to the building they were on, trying to stake out an entrance that would be easy to get into but would also be covered. There were many different entrances but they were all strategically placed where the Cloaks would be vulnerable while they were going inside. By now, he knew that Timothy Drake was a sadistic genius that loved tormenting villains with his vulnerable but invulnerable spots. Now the only question remained was which spot he would use.

Beside him, Crispin continued talking, even though she knew Danny had been ignoring her the entire time. He never listened to her when she told him King's plans and sometimes she started telling him ridiculous things, such as mutant spiders were attacking New York City, but it never got his attention. Ever.

Crispin's voice finally died when Danny's head tilted to the side. "…can you even hear me?"

Danny continued staring at the Drake Industries building. Behind his mask, his eyes were squinting at the window near the target's room. His thoughtful green eyes swirled behind the white lenses.

"…I'll take that as a no…" Crispin muttered, slipping her hands behind her mask and rubbing her face. The only reason her team hadn't been taken off the 'on-duty' list yet was probably because Danny liked working with them. He had known them all since before he had even joined the Cloaks. Sure, they were still walking the fine line between acquaintances and friends but Danny was most comfortable with them, though he had yet to open up to them and they had yet to open up with him.

Danny finally mapped the plan out before turning off his mental blocks, turning to the Crimson Cloak beside him. "So Crispy, what did the pretty princess want us to do this time?"

Crispin closed her eyes and pressed one hand to her forehead. "I already told you the _entire_ plan. You were too busy ignoring me to listen. And I would stop bothering to tell you all these plans but King tells me to tell you, even though he knows you won't listen anyways, and I am _not_ getting on his bad side."

"I never got on his bad side and I did all sorts of crap to him." Danny stated, quickly getting into his stereotypical Superman-pose. Behind his mask, there was a huge, million-watt smile on his face, showing off his teeth. Ironically enough, the wind started to blow calmly, sending his cloak flying out gently. If anyone could see his face, they would immediately assume he was mocking Superman. Which he was.

Crispin glared at the boy. "You are the only one he has let get away with that crap, simply because he knows you like to avenge tenfold. And any punishments he gives you will simply be ignored."

"Yeah~…" Danny drawled, dropping the stance and softening his smile behind his mask. His arms fell by his sides, shoulders sagging. Though his posture was relaxed, his head was still high on his shoulders.

Crispin sighed, turning to look at the building. With one hand drifting up to stop around her hip, she tilted her head while looking for her own entrance. She didn't find any suitable ones and turned to look up at the boy beside her. "So what's your plan this time? I don't see any entrances that usually suit your kind of plan."

"See that window?" Danny said, pointing to the specific window he had been contemplating just minutes before. "We're going to use that as an entrance once we get on the roof. After that, all we do is tiptoe over to the target's room, grab said target, and get out via front door. Then we run back to the van, and my bike, as fast as we can and get out of Metropolis before Superman has time to bash our heads in."

The blonde glared at the taller boy. "Are you kidding? He's frikkin Superman. He always has time to bash some heads! He flies at the speed of light! And I've heard that Timothy Drake's buildings are always crawling with guards and all sorts of security programs!"

"And they are." Danny stated pleasantly. "Way back before I got caught, I did a job involving one Mr. Bruce Wayne. Timothy Drake was, technically, adopted sometime after his father's death and it was finalized and blah-blah-blah. Well, everyone in the criminal underworld knows how paranoid Bruce Wayne is, though he pretends everything is fine all the time. This, supposedly, rubbed off on dear Timothy. It has been proven by all the failed attempts to steal from him."

"Wait, wasn't this heist _your idea_?!" Crispin questioned. "Why did you suggest this place? Are you trying to get us killed or caught?!"

Danny clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Calm down, Witch. It's nearly impossible to steal from Drake Industries but not _completely_. I managed to steal from Drake Industries, once, without setting any of the systems or alerting any of the guards. Said heist took me, like, five frikkin hours to do completely but I managed it. It can be done."

Crispin's expression turned completely blank. "…you want us to work at this for five hours?"

"No. We'll get it done a lot faster this time. Promise." Danny assured before turning around to the others of the Beta Team. "Alright guys, let's get moving. The plan is all set and ready."

The other five gathered around, ready to listen to whatever their leader said. The white-haired boy quickly recapped what they were going to do, going into detail only when necessary. After he was done, he began leading them onto the building next to theirs, where Danny re-found the window and hooked a grappling line to the side of the building. Carefully, Crispin went down first and managed to cut a decent sized hole in the glass before she slipped inside with the pane in her hands.

After, each of the other Cloaks slipped down after, crawling through the hole while Danny looked out for anyone that could spot them and call the cops. Once they were all inside, Danny fell down after them much faster than any of them had gone and practically jumped inside the hole, making the Crimson Cloak of the group face-palm in exaggeration. It was when Danny noticed Crispin whispering something to their leader.

"Hey." He whispered, getting her attention and causing her to stop talking to King. "Don't talk to him. We're now in the middle of a mission. You listen to me, understand? If he has a problem with the way the things are being done, you tell him to talk to me, ok?"

Crispin reluctantly took her hand from her ear, listening to King's hisses in her ear uneasily.

Danny gestured for the Cloaks to follow him out of the office space they had crawled into, dozens of cubicles surrounding him. They slunk between them, leaving the pane of glass back against their entrance. The group slipped into a different hallway, tiptoeing as quietly as they could down the hall, towards the room at the end of the hall. They kept themselves spread out, making sure they had room to scatter in case of a stray security guard.

Danny led the group down the hall, with Crispin and Rider following behind him. He tensed the closer he made it to the door, noticing how guards seemed unnaturally absent and no alarms had been set off yet. That usually meant something was either going to jump out at him or he was going to trip and set something off.

As he became no more than twenty paces away from the door, Danny froze when a red laser became visible around his foot. All the other lasers crisscrossing around the door came into visibility one at a time, right before a building-wide alarm started going off.

"Hm… I didn't even have to trip this time." Danny commented before he spun around. "We can still fulfill the mission! Split up and keep the guards busy but stick together! I'll get the target!"

Without a second thought, the nineteen-year-old rushed forward and burst through the doors. Danny quickly ran to the vault in the back of the room and began trying to break it open. Timothy Drake was a lot smarter than, say, Lex Luthor, who always kept his hidden devices on display. The vault was hard to hack and Danny had to break his dramatic flair streak and phase it out before retreating from the room.

Just as he was exiting, he stopped dead in his tracks and cursed under his breathe. "Oh crap…"

At the end of the hall, Superman and Batman glared at him, blocking his exit and way to freedom. Both were tense and had a flicker of determination and anger in their eyes. They weren't going to dare let him get out of this situation without a long, hard battle.

But Danny didn't have time for battles. The male had what he needed. He needed to grab his team and _go_.

"Well… Didn't know you were in town, Batsy. Frankly, I wouldn't have shown up if I had but what can I do about it now that I'm here?" Danny asked sarcastically, slipping the chip he had just taken and slipping it into his belt. He also tensed his muscles, getting himself ready to bolt, find the team, and leave completely.

"We see you came here alone this time." Superman stated, crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes were on the verge of turning red and bursting Danny into flames with his heat vision.

The boy's eyes narrowed behind his white lenses. "Yeah… Decided to do a solo mission for once. Is that so bad, you guys? Though I guess it would make your jobs a little bit harder, huh?"

"But you didn't come here alone, did you?" Batman questioned. He sounded like he wasn't all that surprised. "And whoever you came with isn't here anymore. I entered the building on the ground floor. No one was anywhere in the building. Just you. So where are your little buddies, Phantom?"

Danny felt the tendrils of anger creeping up in the pit of his stomach. He felt the intense desire to kill each and every one of his teammates and then brutally kill King. There was no doubt that King would want his valuable pawns out of the field if there was any sign of danger. So far, they hadn't had this sort of problem. It was the first time they had set off any alarms in a city with a designated hero.

"Aw, did your team leave you?" Batman said, a mocking note creeping up in his usually toneless voice. "Now do you understand why you hurt us so much?"

Danny screamed out as he released a glowing, green punch into the ground. It sent a shockwave full of green energy through the ground, knocking Batman off his feet and blasting Superman in the face. Once they had both recovered, they noticed Danny was gone and cracks were starting to spread around the ground and through the floor, creating structural damage.

"I'll get the security guards out of the building." Superman stated. "You get Phantom. You probably have the best chance."

Batman nodded, knowing his knowledge of where Danny would go and what he would do was the only reason for such thoughts, and the Dark Knight began his way out of the building. He was going to have to find a way to apologize to Tim sometime, now that he thought about it…

* * *

Danny growled, looking at the empty spot beside his bike. It was where the van was supposed to be but nope. It was gone, who-knows-how-far from the original spot. He was unsure of when exactly they left but it didn't take long for the two heroes to get there, _of course_. Superman could fly freakishly fast and all Batman had to do was hold his hand!

The white-haired teen straddled the bike while letting his mask dangle around his neck, shoving his helmet over his head. Quickly turning the ignition, a loud _ROAR_ emitted from the bike's engine. He shot off into the night like a bullet, nothing more than a streak. As he was turning a corner to get to the highway, his anger was halted for a moment by panic as he turned the brake quickly, stopping in front of a bunch of police cruisers.

And his mask was around his neck and his cloak was draped over his shoulder…

Danny and the cruisers stayed in a standstill for a couple of seconds. One of the drivers was glaring at him heatedly.

The white-haired boy hit the throttle and his bike spun around on one wheel, quickly taking off in the opposite direction. Danny yelled a command into his helmet, getting a map to flash in front of his eyes. A course outlined in blue told him where to go, leading him down the most unused path the city had to offer. From what he could tell, it had a lot windy paths and sharp turns, which is why so few used it. Its wreck toll was pretty high as well.

Danny yelled a curse when Batman's glowing Bat-Cycle swerved around a corner ahead of him, making him turn onto a different side-street to escape him and the cops. He turned the speed up, accelerating as he tried to outrun the cops and the pursing Batman. Danny was finally starting to get farther from the cops but the Dark Knight was quickly catching up, having a bike that was modified to catch up with crooks that had their own modified vehicles, like Danny did.

Though he was still very angry his team had disregarded his orders and listened to the idiot on the other side of the country, he was sort-of glad they had at the same time. They never would've been able to get away in the black van.

Danny found himself slamming on the brakes again, screeching to a slow stop as he saw the cops coming at him from ahead. There was no time to turn onto a different street and he couldn't turn around with so many other cops behind him.

He was trapped.

Small flashes of the American troops taking him down after the maze incident with Sam, Tucker, and Batman flashed through his mind, as well as visions from his quick trial, stay in prison, and failed escape. The panic he had felt before started creeping through his bones and seeping through his muscles, driving him to do something drastic to escape.

Behind the visor on his helmet, ebony slammed over his green eyes. His nightmare powers invaded the entire police forces' and Batman's minds, making them watch as the ground split open as black tendrils of fire spilled out. The officers screamed, swiveling around to avoid the black flames and crashing into each other as hellish creatures snarled and jumped at them. Batman's hands jerked to the side and his bike rolled. He spilled off the side of the back and landed on the pavement, tearing up his suit.

On his bike, Danny was feeling sick. He'd never invaded so many different minds at one time, creating such a complicated and intricate design of the stuff of nightmares. His energy was draining fast and he finally had to cut his powers off before he really did get sick. Letting his panic fuel his need to get away, the white-haired boy turned again with the screeching of tires and flew through an opening between two piles of police cruisers.

Batman was the first to recover, as he had been on the receiving end of Danny's Black Vision before. With an inaudible groan falling from his lips, the Dark Knight pushed himself off the ground. He looked in the direction Danny's bike was taking off, panting. Wiping the sweat off his face, he got up on his feet and pulled his bike off the ground. He threw his leg over the seat and took off after, thunder rolling above him.

* * *

Danny kept his speed off as he turned off one of the main drags leading out of the city, cruising onto a short cut that most people would never use, simply because the road had many hairpin curves and other sharp turns that made it hard to keep on the road. It was much easier for smaller cars and motorcycles to navigate on but, if you weren't careful, you could easily drive right off the side of the road.

Danny's panic was still flowing through his veins. He remembered everything about the terrain of the specific road but, somehow, his mind had completely forgotten it was dangerous to go the speeds he was going on a narrow and twisty road. He was too busy thinking the cops were going to catch him, though he had made them all crash back in Metropolis.

Of course, it had also started raining as he had exited the large city. It drenched him to the bone as it pelted him and his bike, making the asphalt under him slippery. His speeds, though they had decreased considerably as he exited the city, were still a little too high for a slippery, windy road.

The white-haired teen yelped as he barely made the first hairpin curve he came across. His bike had tipped to the side, almost throwing him off before he was able to regain control completely. His speed decelerated again but it was not dropping into a safe-zone quite yet.

Danny had just sharply turned another corner when it started hailing. He cringed every time one of the balls of ice landed on his helmet, back, or arms. They stung his skin, though there was protective Kevlar covering his body. His head rattled every time a chunk of ice hit his helmet, reverberating through his skull.

Fortunately, the hail didn't last for more than a few minutes. It covered the road in ice, making the bike bounce and swerve some. The rain calmed some too, turning into a mild shower. With this, Danny's speed accelerated some, even though his sight was still being hindered by the downpour.

A scream fell from Danny's mouth as he ran over a piece of intact hail. His wheels swiveled in all directions. Another curve approached him ahead. Panic flew through Danny's arms, down to his hands to avoid the turn. His bike jerked to the side.

_CRASH._

* * *

Batman sped along the icy road, slowing down considerably with each turn he came across. Since no panic was fresh in his mind, nothing was going to make him go faster than he absolutely had to. He was also unsure if Danny had even gone down this road. It was just a guess, since Danny would want to be by himself and, with some panic still at the front of his mind, he would undoubtedly do something reckless.

Hopefully nothing too reckless… The road he was currently riding along was more than capable of killing someone, even a half-ghost youth. One wrong turn and you could drive off the side of a cliff.

Three and a half miles down the road, Batman turned a corner and almost accidently slammed on his brakes. A couple hundred of meters in front of him, there was a bike half-hanging off a cliff with a black-clad body lying in the middle of the road, sprawled out on his side.

The Dark Knight stopped his bike close to the wreckage. Taking off his helmet, Batman called over the pouring rain "Danny! … Danny, are you ok?!"

Unexpectedly, one hand rose off the concrete briefly before falling back onto the pavement. Danny stayed well in his spot though. The only other sign his rather still body, which was a bad sign in itself because Danny didn't stay still, was the careful rise and fall of his chest.

Batman wasted no time in practically falling off his bike and running up and falling down beside the male, slipping the cracked and broken helmet aside as he carefully took him up. Holding his cape above their heads, the Dark Knight blocked the rain falling down on them, enabling him to better see Danny's drenched black hair and drooping black eyes. The wounds scattered across his body started bleeding, no water to wash the vital, red liquid away. The split in his chin started dripping all over his black tee.

"What were you doing?!" The Dark Knight yelled at him, a stern expression on his face.

Danny smiled at him, showing off his bloodstained teeth, courtesy of his busted lip. "Well~ Batsy, I got bored driving like a maniac and went a little nuts so I crashed my vehicle. Is twas a swell idea, was it not?"

Batman glared at the younger. "Keep using the sarcasm and I will slap you, regardless if you have a concussion or not."

The red-banged boy laughed. His eyes drooped closed and his head fell onto Batman's chest, tired.

"Any broken bones?" Batman asked.

Danny shrugged. "My wrist might be but I can't tell. I ain't no medical expert so that's totally your call."

"It's 'I'm _not_ a medical expert', you little idiot-stick." Batman stated, noticing that Danny's wrist was being cradled by his good hand around his middle. The injured wrist in question was sticking at an odd angle with the bones underneath bulging in an odd place.

"Are you seriously correcting my grammar right now?" Danny questioned, eyes cracking open a smidge to look at the Dark Knight with an 'are-you-kidding-me?' look.

Batman didn't return any look to the boy while inspecting the rest of him, noticing the various gashes along his arms, sides, and legs. "Well no one else seems to want to teach you."

"If I could, I would face-palm so hard right now."

Batman ignored the simple statement, knowing Danny would rather not cause himself a lot of pain by using his injured wrist. "Did you pass out at any time?"

"Yup. Head hit the ground first. Helmet didn't give me any help there. Woke up a little bit of time later and then, wallah, you are here, saving my butt, yet again!" Danny explained, using his uninjured hand to reach up and pat the Dark Knight's head. "That was a good Batsy."

"…seriously, I will slap you."

Danny laughed to himself while Batman better situated Danny in his arms, ready to pick him up off the ground. With one hand, he pressed him com and requested to be transported to the Watchtower, along with a passenger. Danny commented below him "OOO~, they're going to be so thrilled to see me, right Batsy?"

"I'll take care of that." Batman assured, slipping his hand under the bend in Danny's legs. The rain began soaking them

Danny smiled through the small sting of pain he felt when he was moved. "Yeah, you're going to have to because I'm going to sleep now. Night Batsy."

Batman yelled for Danny to stay awake but the nineteen-year-old was out like a light within seconds. The Dark Knight cursed before they were enveloped by a blinding light. Once they were safely inside the Watchtower, Batman stood up off the ground with Danny unconscious in his arms.

The Leaguers present in the Watchtower stared at the sleeping male with shock. He had practically been uncatchable this entire time, just as he had promised. Now he was in the Watchtower and wounded nonetheless.

"He's got a broken wrist and countless gashes. Let's set the wrist and wrap the gashes before he wakes up. I don't want to want to use anesthetic on his idiotic brain." Batman ordered, watching as everyone finally snapped back to reality.

* * *

Robin tilted his head at the older, sleeping boy, tapping his foot against the ground impatiently. His arms were crossed over his chest stubbornly with a scowl set permanently on his face. His feet hurt from standing in combat boots for who-knows-how-long and his agitation was starting to fly through the roof. He couldn't figure out, for the life of him, why Danny wasn't waking up. He wasn't _that_ lazy.

Batman walked through the doors of the medical bay, eyes easily falling to where Danny was sleeping and Robin was staring the male down with agitated eyes. Now happily dressed in a dry suit, the Dark Knight easily stepped over to where the younger vigilante was, smirking down at him. "Are you excited for him to wake up?"

"_No_." Robin answered, stressing the one word immeasurably. "I'm waiting for the idiot to wake up so I may question why he thought it was a good idea to drive on a narrow road while it hailed. Even people with the least common sense know that hail is inappropriate driving weather."

"Because Danny is known for his common sense…" Batman drawled, clamping the newest Robin on the shoulder. The ten-year-old rolled his eyes behind his domino mask.

Both turned to the door as the rest of the founders of the Justice League entered, standing around the room in various places. All six of them were quiet and had stern expressions gracing their faces. Some stood a good distance from the unconscious boy's bed while others were right next to it.

Batman watched them all with a dry expression, noticing how no one was saying anything. Robin smirked beside him, amused for once. The Dark Knight nudged the younger into the chair behind him, his intent to keep his son completely out of the conversation, lest the boy decided to jump in or one of the Leaguers decided to drag him in.

"Alright, spit it out." Batman stated, copying Robin's earlier form with his arms over his chest and head tilted to the side. Whatever was about to be thrown at him, he was expecting every word of it.

"He needs to be taken to Blackgate." Wonder Woman said bluntly, fixing her firm gaze on his. The others had exact replicas on their faces, agreeing wholeheartedly with the Amazon in the room.

Batman suppressed rolling his eyes at the statement. "He's not going to Blackgate or Arkham or Belle Reve or any of those places, as of right now."

"His vitals are stable. They never even dropped to dangerous levels. It's not like we can't transport him when he's like this." Flash pointed out, not seeing why they couldn't just roll him out of the room and beam him down to one of the prisons. Their problems would be instantly solved.

Green Lantern John Stewart glared at his red-clad friend. "You know that's not the reason. He thinks he can get Danny to try another reform, regardless of what happened last time we tried that."

"Well it wouldn't be hard to get him to agree." Batman stated ominously, gesturing to the sleeping boy.

"But how long would it be until we have a repeat of this incident?" Hawkgirl questioned, thinking of all the times the cycle could repeat. "Don't you remember the transmission he sent that had you ticked off?"

Batman opened his mouth to say something, only to be cut off by Superman agreeing. The others quickly followed his example, nodding and agreeing. They took turns stating reasons why the Dark Knight was "too emotionally attached" and why the red-banged boy needed to go Guantanamo Bay, never to see the sunlight again.

The Dark Knight listened to them, a set glare on his face as he watched the other six. Behind him, Robin was watching them with interest, following along like it was nothing more than a tennis match. An amused smirk was starting to grace his face but it was still small, trying to be hidden from the adults.

A few times during the long, drawn out rant, Batman tried to get a say in but someone always cut him off. Every small break there was, he tried to jump into the conversation (aka argument) but someone always managed to push him right back out. Finally, the Dark Knight snapped "Shut up for just one minute, will ya?!"

The other six Leaguers fell quiet instantly, noticing they had managed to make Batman angry enough that he had to rub his face in exasperation.

"Don't you get it?! He's _my_ double agent!"

* * *

**How did no one say anything about him being a double agent?! I thought for sure everyone would guess that but no one did! This frikkin surprises the crap out of me! Like, ya'll don't even know how surprised!**

**Reviews:**

**Eirena Gaia: No, this goes up to twenty-five chapters and is actually longer in word-form than Dark-Net. :D Glad to hear you're enjoying so much~!**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Haha, cool! Glad you enjoyed~!**

**Poohbearmorris: Yeah~! No more finals~! :D I'm a lot farther ahead than you all are... I said I had fun writing it. I don't know how you guys will take it. :D**

**SomeItalian: That's nice and all but if you're seriously tracking me down, quit it. I don't appreciate being tracked. I'm only allowed to Skype the one person.**

**KuriMaster13: It was an act, alright. ...still surprised no one said anything about being a double agent.**

**SweetyKinz: I KNOW, RIGHT? Poor Tucker, Sam, Damian and Jazzy... We don't feel bad for you, Vlad. Sorry (no we're not)! Banks... *snickers* I'm glad you're enjoying! *hugs happily***

**Pegasus Sword Master: Yup! Just a couple more chapters and we are finished! :D**

**16ckelman: Yes, Danny is a little bummer that way. XD**

**Karen: Interesting way to think about that... :D**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: Calm yourself! It shall be soon~! With the trio, it's all for one or none at all... Yeah, that was pretty smart of her.**

**Guest of Honor: You'll find out when we come to that, ok?**

**Ninuhuju: Yeah, that's what everyone wants to know. XD**

**Popcornbubbles77: Danke. And yeah, they are kinda depressed it seems. ...I can't remember if they are explosions but I know there are bike wrecks.**

**Phantom Heir Daughter of Zeus: I always have something else in mind. XD However, one of them might not come out till the end of July for future-ly explained reasons.**


	22. Double Agent

Ch.22: Double Agent

"Don't you get it?! He's my double agent!" Batman yelled at his colleagues before he smacked Danny upside the head, earning a loud yelp of pain as the boy's blue eyes flew open. "And stop acting like you're asleep and defend yourself, dang it!"

The six Leaguers looked at the irritated boy with wide eyes as he rubbed his head with his uninjured hand. "Why do I need to? You had it all taken care of with whole ominous thing you had going on. It's not like I had to make things even more confusing for the brain-dead nimrods."

Robin snorted in his seat, smirk still set firmly in place as he watched the adults. He was leaning back in his seat, feet propped up on the nightstand beside Danny's bedside.

"Hey!" Flash said, offended.

Danny smirked at the red-clad figure with his signature smug smile. "See, this is what I was afraid of. You all would get used to me being gone, unable to insult you, and then I'd come back and find you had gotten used to being treated like a person. I'm going to have to retrain you all over again… Fortunately for me, I get to have fun. You, however, will not."

Flash groaned and face-palmed unhappily.

"You were a double agent the entire time?!" Hawkgirl questioned, her wide eyes mirrored by all the other's similar expressions.

"Yup." Danny assured, smiling cheekily at her. "Batman planned for me to go rogue _long_ before I even took the mission! I just had to play you all right and _I did_~!" The boy cackled happily in his spot, ignoring some of the aches he received from bruises and scratches, the stitches in his chin being the most. The nineteen-year-old placed his wrist that was now cast-bound around his middle carefully.

The six founding heroes of the Justice League all shared a look and silently agreed that, yes; they had allowed themselves to be played with. The resentment they had formerly held was starting to disperse into the air slowly.

After calming, Danny looked to the side, taking in the sight of the smaller, ebony-haired child. "Sup Unholy One."

Robin rolled his eyes at the greeting, still in the same position as earlier. His smirk turned into an irritated frown once the older boy had set his sights on him. "Hello prick."

Danny grinned, nodding his head at the younger like he had just been complimented. He settled into the pillows behind him with a content look, easily saying "Yeah… I missed your little, uncreative quips, kid. Really, I did. It amuses me greatly."

"I'm _not_ a kid."

"See, you keep telling me that but, frankly, we all know that is a flat-out lie."

While the others watched the exchange, the Dark Knight stood beside Danny's bed. Even though the others had taken the news rather well and had almost immediately calmed, Batman had not followed the other's instant cool-off. His expression was still set and stern. His fists clenched by his sides while his lips settled in a deep frown. If he wasn't radiating agitation, everyone would've assumed he was sulking when they gazed at him.

Robin was the first to notice the agitation. "Is something wrong, Batman?"

The Dark Knight didn't have time to answer before Danny did for him. "Oh, you know why he's moping. The 'double-agent' thing came out before he wanted because I'm an idiot, remember? There were supposed to find out _after_ everything was settled and done."

The ten-year-old shrugged. "True. And you _are_ an idiot."

"Did I _not _just clarify that?"

"Enough." Batman stated, instantly cutting off the fight before it could really begin. He did not want to see the two go at it while Danny had a broken wrist and a mission still in-progress. "We've got to discuss what we do from here now that some of the plan is compromised."

"I want to discuss why you thought it was a great idea to hide some of the plan from us." Green Lantern stated, some of Batman's past kept-hidden-for-a-long-time-before-brutally-coming-out-in-the-worst-of-way secrets coming to mind. Some of him didn't understand why Batman kept trying but the other part knew the exact reason as well.

Batman rolled his eyes. "If it wasn't obvious before, Danny's two aliases, Graveyard and Phantom, act very much like each other. The roles are very similar, not to mention he can't hide his powers. I knew it would only be a matter of time before King or one of the Cloaks recognized something about Phantom that was in Graveyard. So, Danny was going to claim that heroism wasn't for him and leave it behind. He had you all convinced."

"But you were ticked!" Flash said, referring back to the transmission Danny had sent them.

The red-banged boy laughed again. "You guys are aware that Batsy is an actor all on his own, _right_?"

They all remembered at that moment that, yeah, the Dark Knight had played them before. It was not the first time. They had a feeling it would not be the last either…

"Idiots…" Robin muttered, rolling his eyes behind his mask. This earned another laugh from Danny, amused by all the things that transpired.

Batman rolled his eyes at the two. "The only thing downside to that part of the plan was that Danny would fall even more out of touch with me and the plan might take much longer, as Danny would have to act more closely to a villain than before. However, it seems we're not following the traditional route like we were beforehand…" Batman hissed, a small glare forming on his face as he looked down at Danny.

At this accusation, Danny fell into an angry fit of his own. "Oh, shut up, would ya? That last encounter was out of plans for me as well. One thing I despise about the Cloaks is that King has the most power over everyone, even when we're out in the field. So when the prissy princess saw that Superman and Batman were on the scene, he ordered his pawns out of the field. Or, at least, that's my guess. My second in command, if you will, is not one to disobey orders."

"You're fun to disobey." Robin commented, smirking at the older in amusement.

Danny gave him a pointed glare, heatedly staring the younger down. "I know you know _full well _you _do not, under any circumstances,_ go against your leader's orders unless they're _bogus_. I had a plan. It would have _worked_. The bigger plan is starting to _screw up_ and it's because someone didn't follow the right order. So _shut up, you frikkin child_."

Robin's amused expression dropped and was replaced with a frown. His feet dropped off the nightstand, glaring at the older. "Why you little-"

"_Enough_!" Batman yelled, smacking both of the boys upside the head quickly, earning loud yelps in response that was quickly followed by feral growls from the two. "You two need to stop busting each other's balls every time you can! We've got things to do and your fights are _not_ helping!"

All the Leaguers took a careful step back from the quick transition of events between the three. The anger around them was tangible. Counseling was a good idea to get the three of them but no one _dared_ to suggest so.

"Back to the point," Batman stated, ignoring the glares being sent his way by two very angry youths. "Danny, you're the king of lies. Think up something. King's going to want an excuse on why you get back to your base late."

"Simple fix: Tell them I crashed, got help at a hospital, drove back. It doesn't take a genius." Danny snapped at him, slumping in his bed and crossing his arms over his chest. Curses fell from his mouth under his breath. His angry blue eyes shifted from Batman to Robin then back to Batman before repeating the process over again.

The Dark Knight nodded at the boy before turning to look at the Leaguers. "Keep this between yourselves. The only other people who know about this are Robin, Snowbird, and Drone. If anyone asks what we're doing with Danny, lie. If you meet him in a fight anytime soon, don't hold back. Danny still has no trouble screwing you over."

"I might skip the screwing and skip right to the bashing of the heads." Danny stated, earning an eye roll from the Dark Knight. "If I'm fighting the little demon, I'll definitely skip the screwing and skip right to busting his skull with a pipe."

"And I won't keep my sword from slicing your throat."

"You mean you'll try, right?"

"How many times do I have to say it?! _Enough_!" Batman yelled at them, making them fall quiet again in a sulking manner. With a small huff falling from his lips, the Dark Knight ordered "Robin, go home. You have school in the morning and I don't need you attacking someone during school hours."

Robin mumbled curses and threats under his breath as he got up from his seat, stalking out of the room towards the zeta-beams, no doubt. The Leaguers watched him awkwardly, stepping out of his way as he went. No one wanted to deal with an angry child that would surely bite their heads off first chance he got.

Danny smirked smugly as he watched the younger walk out of the room before receiving another smack upside the head from Batman. "OW! What was that for, you over-sized _rat_?!"

The Leaguers rose an eyebrow at the insult, noticing how it oddly fit before they decided to take another step back. Robin wasn't there anymore but Batman and Danny's explosive fights were nothing new. It was best to be a good distance away when and if they decided to go at it.

Though Danny seemed perfectly fine with engaging in a fight, Batman didn't seem to be in the mood. "Enough with the violence. If you have to be angry at someone, be angry at the Cloaks. Do _not_ bring the rest of us down with them, got it? We're not the reason you're angry in the first place."

Danny slumped again, still angry but now quiet. Batman sighed, calming himself even further from the almost-dispute he and Danny could've gotten into. It's just what they needed after the last one. "We'll release you from the med bay in a couple of hours. For now, sleep it off. I'll check on you in a little bit."

Danny nodded his compliance before he watched Batman start leaving the room, the Leaguers leaving with him. He turned on his side to better get comfortable, carefully moving his broken wrist around so not to hurt it, before closing his eyes, content to try and sleep. However, he was too energized by his ticked off nature and sighed in irritation.

* * *

As they were leaving the room, Superman joined his black-clad friend's side and followed after him as they continued down the hall. "Are you sure he's not angry at us? It's just the Cloaks, right?"

"Yes, it's all directed at the Cloaks. If he was angry with us, he would've let us know about it long before he allowed himself to get agitated by Damian. Speaking of which, I need to go calm my ten-year-old down. If you need me, I'll be in the Bat-Cave sparring with him." Batman assured before splitting from the Man of Steel, following the path his son no doubt would've taken because it was the most efficient.

Superman should not have been surprised by the way the Bats let off steam.

A couple of hours later and Danny was all dressed and ready. His expression was still angry, though he had slept for a good few hours during his stay. The male was oddly quiet the entire time he and Batman went over medical procedures for the boy's stitches, cast, and wraps, as well as a few, last-minute reinventions of the plan. The Dark Knight had a feeling the nineteen-year-old hadn't listened to a word he said and was planning on just winging the entire rest of the plan.

"Where would you like us to beam you down?" Batman asked as he and Danny approached the controls. The black-haired boy had his hood over his hair, silently daring the other heroes to talk to him while he was still edgy.

The nineteen-year-old shrugged. "Just send me back to where my bike is. Hopefully it's not too damaged and I can drive it to a shop. Once all fixed up, I'm driving back to California. The trip itself might take me two weeks, at most."

"Sure you don't want us to beam you and the bike to California?" Batman asked.

Danny nodded. "Yeah. The idiots are still driving back at this moment and I need to be behind them. I wonder if they even care about where I am right now…"

The Dark Knight sighed but gestured for Martian Manhunter to carry out Danny's wishes. The green-skinned alien did as he was told, beaming the red-banged boy down to the middle of the wreckage. His bike was still hanging half-off the side of the road, having not even been touched.

…was this road really _that_ avoided?

Danny sighed irritably before stalking over to his bike, pulling it from the ledge, and beginning the wonderful process of inspecting the entire thing over. Luckily for him, it was ride-able for the time being. How long it would last, he was unsure. He already needed to get it to a shop. This just increased that need.

Danny scooped his cracked and broken helmet off the ground, inspecting it to see if it was worth putting on. With another long sigh, he slipped it over his head carefully, mindful of the stitches on his chin. Though there was a Band-Aid over the wound and stitches, he didn't want to make himself hurt by busting it against something else.

After, Danny wondered how he was going to ride with a broken wrist. With a sigh, he figured he was going to have to do it very carefully and threw his leg over the bike, starting it up with his good hand.

Oh, he was really starting to hate everything about the Cloaks at that moment…

Anger surging through him, the boy carefully wheeled away from the wreckage and kept a slow pace as he maneuvered through the rest of the narrow passageway.

_Two Weeks Later…_

The roar of Danny's bike echoed off the walls of the Cloaks' base, creating a loud thrum through the rest of the complex. Danny shut it off with his good hand and got off the bike, carefully using both hands to slip his relatively new helmet off his head. His fixed bike rested calmly and undented in the garage, surrounded by the all the vans the Cloaks had.

Danny set the helmet on the bike before stalking inside the complex. His anger over the couple of weeks had not simmered at all, though it had disappeared at times when Danny was distracted with something much more pressing. Once the distraction was gone though, Danny was right back to thinking of all the ways he was going to take the Cloaks down brutally.

As Danny stalked through the halls, his black cloak flowing behind him since he had transformed back into his ghost-half for the first time since the crash a few miles out from the base, the other Cloaks stared at him with wide eyes. He had been gone from the base for over two weeks and they had expected for him to never be seen again. But here he was, scathed and angry.

The white-haired nineteen-year-old burst into King's throne-room, where a small group of Crimson Cloaks were reporting some things to their leader. Everyone turned to the Shadow Cloak as he stalked forward, eyes flashing and face exposed, mask still around his throat. Danny pointed to the door as he paced forward. "_Get out! Right now. Get out!_"

Ignoring the protests King started giving, the Crimson Cloaks scurried past the angry Shadow Cloak and out the double doors.

As they left, King glared at the boy. "Shadow, It's good to see you back but you should have-"

"_Shut up_." Danny ordered, dropping his arm to his side and stopping a few paces from the older. "Did you order Crispin to retreat from our last mission together?"

"I did." King said simply, clasping his hands behind his back.

"_Why?! I had everything under control!_" Danny yelled at the masked leader. His green eyes flashed dangerously, swirling green eyes ominous under the boy's hood.

King sighed in irritation. "Heroes showed up; that's why. The Cloaks have no experience fighting them."

"And they're never going to get experience if you never let them off their leash! You have to be behind every move they make! _Well guess what, Princess!_ I have experience! I can train them while we're out in the field so they can get better and start hitting bigger targets! You may not want them improving but you sure as heck don't want this organization dying either!" Danny accused, making the older glare at him as he was threatened. "We can stop getting support from frikkin Vlad Masters if we hit bigger targets! I'm going to start training them, whether you like it or not, got it?!"

King, though he was thoroughly offended and more than ticked off, nodded his consent. There was no point in arguing with the inarguable.

Danny nodded back, eyes still flashing as he began to slowly turn back towards the doors. "Good. If you need me, I'll be in Las Vegas, drinking my troubles away and gambling."

"Excuse me?" King questioned, eyes narrowing at the boy.

Danny didn't even bother with a mock smile. "I'm ticked with you. More so than I've been with almost anyone, which is pretty frikkin extraordinary. I need time to cool down or this place is gonna burn. And it's not like I'm any use to you now in the condition I'm in." Danny seethed, holding up his wrist still stuck in a cast. "Do you know how hard it is to drive with a broken wrist?! And I got the stitches taken out of my chin today! I have no idea when I'm supposed to get the rest taken out!" Danny growled before beginning to stalk away.

King didn't bother with any words after him. He just seethed in his spot quietly.

"One more thing…" Danny stated, turning around. His glare hardened in a threatening way at the older. "Don't you _ever_ order my team around again when you aren't the one out of the field. _Ever_."

Even if King wanted to say something in reply, he wouldn't have had time with the way Danny retreated from the throne room.

Soon as he was out in the hall, the Shadow Cloak quickly paced to the computer room. He undid one of the laptops, gathered up the equipment, and stuffed them all in a laptop bag thrown in one of the room's corners. With the bag over his shoulder, Danny stalked from the room and headed back towards the garage, face still set in a grim, furious expression.

As he was cutting through the Crimson Cloak corridors, Crispin exited from her room, unknowing of the ticked male walking through her neck of the woods. Just as she was turning in the direction of the kitchen, she was slammed against the wall beside her roughly, giving a startled gasp as she did. Anger shot through her and, with a glare, she looked up. The look instantly melted into a look of panic at the male glaring at her with swirling, green eyes.

Danny held Crispin against the wall with his good hand, hiding his wounded wrist in his cloak. "Don't you _ever_ listen to King over me in the field again. I can't even promise I'll stick by you anymore."

Danny released the girl, pacing away without so much as a second thought. Crispin watched after him, her expression still shocked and scared at the taller, older boy that had pretty much threatened to leave her and her team behind if something were to threaten him.

Once Danny was back in the garage and had his helmet over his head, he started up his old com inside. "Sam? Tucker? You guys there? … Hey, guys, calm down! I just wanted to let you both know that a visit is long overdue. Meet me at the usual place in a couple of hours? I'm ready to drink my troubles away… How bout you?"

* * *

**Well, that should explain things and, _man_, Danny is ticked. **

**And Comic Con... WAS AWESOME! :DDD Oh my gosh, it was so much more fun than I originally imagined (so many nerds in one place)! Everyone wanted pictures of my friends and I! We were the group dressed as Robin (me), Red Hood (who looked so realistic), Magneto and Prof X (couldn't go 5 ft. without someone asking to take a picture with them), and Catwoman (lots of guys took pictures with her). I can't wait to go next year~!**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following me/story: _TheBoss3254, GothGirl-Clueless1._**

**Reviews:**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: Glad you liked the timing. XD Look, Danny's awake now and ready to burn a house down! :D**

**Guest of Honor: Yeah, sure, ok, whatever.**

**KuriMaster13: Yeah... I couldn't think of a better term though so... XD**

**Dani: Sure... Whatever.**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: This chapter should've made things clearer and, if not, I can explain things a little better if you need me too.**

**SweetyKinz: DUDE, THAT WAS LITERALLY ONE OF THE BEST REVIEWS I'VE EVER RECIEVED IN MAH ENTIRE FRIGGIN LIFE. XDDD Oh my gosh, your reviews are amazing when you're up early! XDDDDDD I'M-A ORCA! YYYEEESSSS! Ironically enough, that's the type of whale that almost always shows up in my dreams... I FRIKKIN LOVE YOU, DUDE. *hugs spontaneously and for a good, long time* Hope you're having fun on your cruise~!**

**Eirena Gaia: Hehehehe~! XD I knew you would have trouble accepting the double-agent-majigger. Glad you liked it though! And don't worry, dude! You'll figure out what to do! I believe in you!**

**Sarra Torrens: Danke!**

**Pegasus Sword Master: Yeah~! Danny stopped bumming people out!**

**Poohbearmorris: XD Surprising ya'll is fun~! Nothing is more fun than 'slapping people in the face'. XD**

**Expergiscimini: XD Yes, that is bad because I kinda need him for the rest of the story.**

**Roselin: Yup, exactly! :D Glad you enjoyed~!**

**Azorawing: *laughs* How is one too good a villain? Everyone fails eventually! XD**

**Karen: Tim is actually the most observant Robin. XD No, he ain't dying. He's fine. Hehehe~! Gotta love Dami, right?**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: Oh, I know, right? He's such a jerk. Yeah, please don't hurt me. XD He's mostly ok! ...yeah, it shouldn't be too surprising now that it's out. **

**SomeItalian: Don't get caught. That's illegal. *thumbs up* Well... There's Danny's reasons for doing such a thing. :)**

**Popcornbubbles77: Woo explosion! :D *snorts* You ain't stupid. I kept it hidden. Well... There's your answer for, well everything. XD Glad you enjoyed!**

**Guest(1): XD Hehehe~! Seems a lot of people did that!**

**Ninuhuju: Those are so fun to write... XD**


	23. Identities

Ch.23: Identities

Sam looked at her watch for the umpteenth time in the past fifteen minutes, bouncing her leg anxiously. Her violet eyes drifted around the large casino afterwards. Her painted fingernails drummed against the counter in front of her, creating a steady rhythm that was very different from the one playing over the radio. The rest of her body twitched anxiously.

Tucker watched her dryly, much calmer than his female friend. He looked between her untouched drink and his almost empty mug. He shrugged, took another sip, and set the mug back on the table in front of him. The cocoa-skinned boy shrugged his shoulders, getting his jacket much better situated on his shoulders than before.

"Sam, I think you need to chill." Tucker stated, grabbing her arm to stop her incessant moving.

The ebony-haired girl glared at her friend with the same dry expression the boy wore. "Come on, Tuck! Aren't you excited? It's been forever since we've seen Danny! Where is he?"

Tucker rolled his eyes at his friend's eagerness to see their friend. "Sam, he's driving from California. It takes a couple of hours to get here, especially with a broken wrist. Give him some time. It's not even six in the morning yet and it takes, like, what? Nine and a half hours to get down?"

Sam snorted and looked at the drink sitting untouched in front of her. It wasn't her first glass; it was actually her second. It had taken quite a few hours to get the first gone. "Hm… Maybe we should stop drinking since it's the early morning hours…"

"Nope." Tucker said, taking another gulp from his alcoholic drink. "Danny sounded ticked over the phone. If we wanna survive his anger, we're gonna need to keep a-drinking."

"What if he needs our help with something?"

"No better time to help someone than when you're buzzed."

Someone snorted behind the two, making them turn around quickly to face their red-banged friend. Their faces split into large grins while Danny smirked at them, arms carefully crossed over his chest while he leaned on one leg. A messenger bag hung over one of his shoulders. "That _would_ be your philosophy, Tuck. Though I can't say I disagree because it's so wonderful but that sounds wrong to normal people and all…"

Sam laughed and stood up from her chair, eagerly hugging Danny around his shoulders while he did so around her waist. "Hello, my little rogue~! It's so nice to see you again!"

"Hey Sammy." Danny greeted, pulling away and throwing his arm around Tucker's shoulders. With a grin and his injured hand carefully on his waist, Danny asked "And how is good ole Tuck doing? I see he's enjoying his alcoholic beverage very much without me!"

"Well, you've cooled down a lot since the last time we talked." Tucker commented, glancing at his friend with a giant grin on his face. He was still hunched over the table, though it had straightened when Danny had decided to set his sights on him for a greeting.

Danny hummed as he sat down beside his long-time, guy friend. Sam sat down on his other side, propping her head on her fist as she watched the two boys. "Yeah, well, I had around nine hours to look forward to seeing you guys again. It's like the ultimate chill-pill, if you ask me. Nothing is more relaxing than you two with me…"

"Really?" Sam asked skeptically. "I thought we were the loudest people in the universe."

Danny nodded. "And you are but that's what makes you so relaxing."

Sam laughed, the soothing sound falling from her lips while Tucker snorted. "Of course noise relaxes Danny… That's typical."

"Yeah~…" Danny drawled, grinning to himself. "That is typical. Anyways, moving on!" With that, Danny pulled a laptop from the messenger bag, setting it up in front of him. "Alright, let's get down to it. I'm ticked off the dear ole Cloaks' leader, King."

"Lame name." Sam commented.

"Can't people get creative?" Tucker asked hopelessly, turning his eyes to the roof as he sighed.

Danny snorted. "As of right now, no. King is an annoying freak-a-zoid but you probably already managed to figure that out. Not surprisingly, he runs his organization through fear and intimidation, which is kinda what Batman does with the Justice League." Sam and Tucker snorted by Danny's sides, ducking away to laugh. "He's got something hanging over Vlad Masters' head, though I'm not sure what. It's one of the things we're going to find out tonight."

"What are the other things you wanna find out?" Tucker asked, watching Danny's good hand fly across the keyboard while his not-so-good hand tried to keep up while being stuck in the same, stiff position.

"King's identity, how the two bozos know each other, and Masters' records are the other points." Danny explained, easily finding his way through the Cloaks' mainframe. With quick efficiency, he began looking through all the connected networks, trying to find out which one it was that King used on a long-term basis. It definitely wasn't any of the ones sitting in the computer lab. "First things first, we're starting with King's identity. He's the villain we're going after, as of right now."

"I wonder if his name is actually King." Sam commented, smiling at her friends humorously. "It would explain his pompous attitude."

Tucker scrunched his eyes up at her. "Aren't we considered pompous?"

"Yes but we're pompous in a good way." Sam answered, showing off her teeth as she smiled bigger at her friend.

Danny's face matched his cocoa-skinned friend's, looking at the girl with confusion. "There's such a thing as a good kind of pompous? Since when?"

"Yeah and when did we get possession of it? We're never in possession of anything good." Tucker added.

Sam merely shrugged in response. The two boys looked at each other with equally confused faces, dropped the looks, and shrugged at each other. As one, the three looked at the computer as it scanned each other mainframe connected to the Cloaks', searching for specific details the others would undoubtedly not have.

"Danny!"

The red-banged boy in question slammed his laptop shut, looking up and throwing his hands in the air while smiling nervously. His two friends beside him straightened up, similar anxious expressions on their faces. "Gary! It's been too long! How ya doing, buddy? Can I get a drink?"

The good-natured bartender smiled at the youth, easily sliding an already filled glass over to Danny. "I'm doing good, D. It's nice to see you around these parts again. How's the new job? Tucker told me you became a bank inspector."

Danny nearly face-palmed and smashed his head on the counter in front of you.

"Yeah! It's been great! Traveling the country and all is loads of fun… Well, how are things going here? It seems busier than I last remember." Danny said easily, his smile strained as he made small-talk with the bartender across from him.

Sitting beside Danny, Tucker hid his head in his arms while Sam hid her face in her hands, groaning quietly.

Within a few minutes, Danny and Gary were all caught up and the bartender went on to take care of other customers. As soon as the older man was out of earshot, Danny turned on Tucker and hissed "_Bank inspector?!_ Are you kidding me?! That was the best you could come up with?! _Is that even a real job?!_"

Sam laughed in her hands and dropped her head to the counter in front of her. Her giggle-fit went unnoticed by the two boys.

Tucker came out from his shell and grabbed the front of Danny's shirt, looking at him hysterically. "I didn't know what to _say_, man! I was being pressured! And I looked it up… No, it's not a thing."

Sam laughed louder behind Danny.

"I'm not as good a liar as you, D!"

"Oh, _you think_?! I'm apparently a bank inspector now?! Why couldn't you have said I found my way as an actor or something?! _That's_ _believable_!"

Sam got up from her spot and pulled Danny away from beating their cocoa-skinned friend. "Boys, boys, calm yourselves. As hilarious as this is for me, you're drawing attention to our little meeting." With that, Sam pointed to the people sitting at the various slot machines, watching them with confused eyes.

Danny and Tucker froze, both holding the other's shirt-fronts. They both glanced at the other before letting go. Danny shook his fist in the air, earning a snort from Sam while he said "What do you looking at?! Nothing to see here! Just a bunch of guys screaming at each other for no real reason! Yeah, that's right! Look away in shame! You deserve to feel ashamed, you monsters!"

Tucker face-palmed, groaning. Sam fell back into another laughing fit.

"We're just a bunch of random people enjoying our lives and you just had to stare! And what is this crappy song talking about?! You can't taste Sangria! It's a frikkin country! How do you taste a country?!"

Sam covered her crying eyes to hide the tears pricking in the corners of her eyes. Tucker quickly pulled Danny back into his seat, hissing "Sangria is a brand of wine, you moreen!"

"Oh…" Danny muttered, looking around at the floor. He abruptly stood back up, saying "I'm sorry, dear people! I thought Sangria was a country! Apparently it's just a bunch of alcohol! Just what this country needs, am I right?"

Sam, through her laughing, helped Tucker pull the red-banged boy back into his seat, now fully crying as she laughed.

"You're an idiot." Tucker stated, shaking his head as he laughed.

"One person's stupid is another's genius." Danny countered, smiling smugly at his 'genius'.

Tucker shook his head. Sam slapped Danny on the shoulder as she calmed, wiping the wet trails from her face with a smile. "Get back to work, idiot."

Danny smiled genuinely and opened his laptop again. Over the time Danny had conversed with Gary and yelled at certain people, his laptop had managed to find nothing on King's mainframe. With a couple of ideas in mind, the red-banged youth searched for hidden connections and backdoors. A couple of minutes later, the boy was looking through King's personal files and plans. Everything was labeled and put in certain files, grouped together according to their details.

"OOO~, someone's got a case of OCD." Sam commented sarcastically, smirking as her friends chuckled. They didn't say anything in reply as Danny combed through all the info. He bounced excitedly when he found a file labeled 'ID'. He opened it up quickly, leaning forward with his two friends as he did.

All of their mouths dropped open.

"That's impossible." Danny stated, blue eyes wide and startled. His entire body went slack as he slumped in front of his computer, mouth loosely hanging from its socket.

Sam pointed at the screen, stuttering. "B-But you-you-you were just _stealing_ from this idiot! We were just _making fun of this idiot_!"

"He can't be Vlad Masters!" Tucker stated, simply and plainly.

Sure enough, Vlad Masters picture was staring back at them. However, his hair was a much darker grey than the usual silver shade. From what they could see, he was wearing a plain white, turtleneck. He was staring at the screen with a not amused expression, obviously unhappy with having to take a picture.

The name on the ID card was for King Zavala.

Danny glared at the alias, obviously not too surprised but hating it all the same. "That name does not surprise me at all…"

Tucker shrugged at him. "What do you expect from an airhead?"

The nineteen-year-old leaned away from the screen, sighing. There was something off with the picture. He wasn't sure what. He knew it wasn't the hair; people could dye their strands anytime they wanted. Danny was a prime example, if his crimson bangs were anything to go by. No, it wasn't his hair… What was wrong with the picture?

"It's not Masters." Danny finally said, biting the inside of his cheek.

Sam looked at him as if he had lost his mind, which was fairly possible. "Danny, are you nuts? That picture matches Vlad Masters perfectly. Anyone can cosplay. But this guy fits the CEO down to a tee. Look at their facial structure!"

"Evil twin?" Tucker asked humorously.

Danny hummed and shrugged, not quite sure what was going on. "It doesn't matter right now. We know what alias he's using, which probably means he changed his name sometime or another. And I don't have the resources to look him up via facial recognition unless I hack the Bat-Cave's computer."

"Will you get caught?" Tucker asked curiously.

"Oh, no doubt." Danny answered, shaking his head with a small smile. "And Batsy wouldn't stop me from using his systems for something like this either. The problem is, he'll kill me next chance he gets because I'm hacking his computer without permission again."

The cocoa-skinned boy looked at his ebony-haired guy friend with a dry look. "You have to get permission to hack the Bat-Cave? _Really_?"

"Yeah…" Danny drawled, shooting his friend a winning smile. "I have to ask permission for a lot of weird things… But that's not the point here! Let's get back on track! Let's find out what the heck good ole Vladdie Masters is hiding!"

An hour later, the three had yet to find anything they wanted to know. Besides King's alias, there wasn't a record that was out of place in Masters files or records, no info on the thing being hung over the billionaire's head, or how the villain and company owner knew each other. All of that was stored carefully in the two's heads, tucked away for safe keeping, unless you were a mind-reader or a Martian.

"This is the most frustrating thing _ever_." Danny growled, staring at the computer furiously. His typing was as fast it could be with a broken wrist but he was continually screwing up and pressing the backspace button as well. He didn't know how much more he could take with his broken wrist _getting in the way of things_. The hacker had never been so acquainted with the backspace before and, frankly, he had never wanted to be.

Sam laid a hand on Danny's shoulder with a reprimanding look. "Calm down, D. Getting frustrated will only make things worse. Take a small breather." Without another word, the girl slid the laptop out from under the boy's fingers and moved it far away, ignoring how Danny instantly whined and tried to make a grab for it.

Tucker grabbed Danny's shoulders, rolling his eyes, and pulled the red-banged boy back into his seat. Danny pouted and slumped, looking after the laptop anxiously. Bouncing in his seat, he silently pleaded for the ebony-haired girl to give it back. She shook her head and said "No."

"You need to think of a plan, Dude. You're obviously not going to be able to find out what you want over a computer." Tucker stated, glancing at the boy seriously. Danny pouted at him further. "You're going to have dig through their places to find out or you're going to have to get it straight from them."

Danny sighed, leaning against the bar in front of him. "If I have to do that, it'd be easier to go to Masters. He's, as far as we know, a victim of blackmail. He might be willing to lend a hand to taking King down if I confront him."

"Or he'll try to shoot you." Sam stated, frowning. She tended to _always_ be the optimistic one in any situation…

Danny rolled his eyes. "That too. If I manipulate the situation right, and I _always_ do, then he'll come a-crawling. Everyone comes crawling eventually."

Tucker snorted but didn't deny this fact. Danny did know how to play others like they were his choice instrument. Any situation he was in, he always seemed to manipulate into one where he was the favorite. And if he didn't, he made it seem like it was so you believed you had no chance against him.

"That's dandy and all but when are you supposed to get back to base?" Tucker asked.

Danny shrugged, nonchalant. "In a couple of days, at most."

"It takes a couple of days to get back to Wisconsin. You'll _never_ have time to get there, chat with Vlad Masters, and get back. It doesn't matter how many traffic laws you end up breaking, it's not possible." Sam stated.

Danny grinned at his two friends slyly, making them tense. "My dear friends, you forget… We've got other people on our sides as well…"

Sam and Tucker glanced at each other nervously as Danny pressed his injured hand to his com gently. His good hand played with the glass in front of him calmly as he stared into space. "Hello? … Hey MM, can I ask a favor? I need to get somewhere really quickly and you're on portal duty again, aren't you? … Yes, I need to get to Wisconsin ASAP. Specifically, anywhere near the DALV Corp building in Madison… Is that doable?"

* * *

Vlad sighed as he rubbed his face with his free hand. The other was in his tux pocket, holding the keys to his building in his pocket. He was scared if he let them go, they'd disappear just like the work file he _swore _he had when he got in his car. He got back to the mansion and it was suddenly gone. Was he happy about this discovery? Not at all.

The silver-haired billionaire pulled out his key-ring again when he approached his office. With tired eyes, Vlad found the right key and slipped it into the lock. With a small turn, the doorknob unlocked and allowed entry for the billionaire. Vlad turned the knob and pushed the door open, walking in without as much as a second thought about the simple routine.

Just as he entered and closed the door, Vlad looked at his desk and froze in his spot. His blue eyes didn't widen. His form didn't tense. His breath never hitched in his throat. Nothing seemed to change except that he had completely frozen in his spot.

Graveyard lounged in Vlad's chair casually, rocking the plush seat back and forth. His feet were propped on the mahogany desk in front of him, showing off his steel-toed boots. One elbow was propped on one of the chair arms, holding his head carefully on a hand that had a cast-bound wrist. From what Vlad could make out in the darkness, Graveyard had smirk on his face, hiding it in the shadows of his hood.

In the hero's free hand, Vlad's work file was held up in the air, twirling the folder around casually.

Once Vlad had frozen in his spot, Graveyard's ominous, glowing green eyes flickered over to look at the living statue before they flickered back to the file held in his hand. "Hello there, Mr. Billionaire Sir. Fancy meeting you here tonight, huh? But, then again, it really wasn't an accident, was it?"

"Graveyard." Vlad acknowledged calmly, nodding once. "Why are you here?"

Graveyard sat straight in his seat and let his feet fall to the floor under the desk. He set the file on the desk in front of him and leading against the desk, resting his arms on top of it gently, mindful of his broken wrist. "Well Mr. Masters, to put it simply… We need to talk."

* * *

**Cliché ending but whatever.**

**P.S. If you go on a hillbilly water-slide, do not expect to be unscathed when you are finished, especially if you are on it for a couple of hours. This will result in much pain when you're trying to sleep and get your clothes on the next morning.**

**Reviews:**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Hahaha, I think he does that to all of us! XD**

**KuriMaster13: XD Bad things come to those who disregard universal laws. **

**KainVixenheim: I figured you were. :)**

**Guest of Honor: *snorts* If Robin and Danny started fighting, the world would fall into immediate ruins. The end. XD**

**Jessica Jayme Bell: Wow, a lot of you guys want the Cloaks to burn... Nice...**

**Expergiscimini: Ha! Wonderful! ...he says sure. XD**

**Popcornbubbles77: You guys and wanting the Cloaks to go down in flames is hilarious. XD I could tell you didn't like him...**

**Sarra Torrens: Aw, thanks~! Glad you enjoyed! :D**

**Dani: It _was_. Like, _so much_~. I had friends with me; that made it all the more fun. :) Hehehe, yeah Dami and Danny have clashing personalities and it does suck.**

**Karen: Oh yeah, said person (*cough*-Flash-*cough*) would be dead within seconds. XD Gotta love jail...**

**SomeItalian: I don't know why you're so obsessed with friggin mafia thing but it ain't happening, dude!**

**Nytwyng: They were told the plan but just not _all of it_. Batsy kinda kept it from them for acting reasons. :)**

**TheBoss3254: :DDDD Dude, welcome to the family! So glad to hear about that! Oh my gosh, I love Exper... XD**

**Pegasus Sword Master: So glad to hear! :D Oh yeah, pretty much... Buh-bye King~!**

**Roselin: *snorts* Yeah, pretty much. Glad you enjoyed! :D**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: Oh, yes he is~! And of course he does~!**

**Phantom Heir Daughter of Zeus: Who knows? They might. We never know~! :)**

**16ckelman: Yup! It's good to be optimistic! :) *snorts* Nice...**

**Ninuhuju: Glad to hear. No he can't~!**

**Poohbearmorris: Yeah, he's ticked. No, I've never broken a bone, thank goodness, but I have had stiches. You need to go~! It's friggin amazing~.**


	24. Old Secrets Die Hard

Ch.24: Old Secrets Die Hard

Danny tilted his head at the older, silver-haired man. He easily leaned back in his seat, carefully crossing his arms over his chest. Glowing green eyes watched Vlad stayed frozen in his spot by the door. Slowly, he began rocking himself again, sinking further into the chair as he moved back and forth. The white-haired male waited patiently for the other to say something, to say anything in his particular situation.

Vlad took a deep breath before leveling his gaze with the double agent's ominous one. "And what is that we need to talk about, dear boy?"

"Oh, I suggest you not call me 'dear'. Everyone who does always ends up regretting it, five minutes later." Danny stated seriously, though his lips were grinning in amusement. "As for the reason I'm here, well… You got any age-old secrets under your belt, Mr. Fancy Pants? A little something-something that could ruin your career completely and entirely..?"

While Vlad turned his curious expression into one that had been hung out in the sun for a couple of weeks, Danny reached into his pocket with his good hand. Carefully, he pulled out the picture of King Zavala before comparing it to the man in front of him. With a careful stare, Danny tried to find what was so _off_ about the picture and the man in front of him.

"If I did, why would I tell you what they are?" Vlad asked, rolling his eyes as he clasped his hands behind his back.

Danny's eyes flickered at the familiar gesture, tilting his head to the side. Though the smile was still gracing his face, the air around him was very serious. Danny let his hands rest in his lap, holding the picture between his fingers. "Well maybe because I'm asking rhetorically, Vlad. I know you have something hidden from the world. I know it's costing you. The question is what's the secret?"

Vlad glared at the intruder, not bothering to say anything more. What was there to say? Nothing that came out of his mouth would convince the youth in front of him of anything different than what he believed right then. It would just be a matter of time before the hero got tired of his silence and left. He just had to hold out until then.

Danny waited for the older to say anything in return to his prod. He quickly realized this man could be just as quiet as the masked leader of the Cloaks. "Alright, let's get to a better question then." Danny laid the picture on the desk, facing Vlad. He gestured for the older to look at it. Vlad stepped forward, looking down. "Does the name King Zavala mean anything to you?"

Something flickered in the older man's eyes. Danny's smile turned into a smirk. "It's familiar, right? Really familiar actually…"

Vlad glared at the male sitting in his spot. That's when Danny figured out what was off between the two.

It was their eyes.

Vlad's eye color was a deeper, much more crystalline blue. King's eye color was blue-grey, as if someone forgot to color them in the rest of the way so they looked more like the billionaire's. Something like that could be faked…but Danny had a feeling that it wasn't.

"How do you know him?" Vlad questioned, glare still firmly set on the younger's green gaze. His fingers graced the picture around the edges with his fingers. Though his blue eyes were harsh, they were also deeply surprised the hero knew the name of the man in the photo.

Danny couldn't help the widening of his grin. He reached down with one and grabbed something hanging on one of the knobs on the desk drawers. "Well Vladdie-O, I've kinda been in contact with him for awhile. You may actually know who I am and recognize my work…" With that, Danny held his wolf mask over his face. He heard Vlad's sharp intake of breath, probably angry with younger of the two for various reasons, starting with Danny ransacking the very office they were in.

The white-haired boy set the mask down in his lap, his smirk still playing on his face. "Oh, I see you recognize me. That's good, that's good…"

"What is a hero doing, working with a villain such as King?" Vlad questioned, crumbling the photo under his fingers and tossing it in the trash can beside the desk.

Danny watched the display with amusement, still rocking the chair he was sitting in back and forth. "Well, I see you hold resentment. Isn't that pleasant?"

"Just answer the question." Vlad stated, half-leaning against the desk in front of him with anger shooting through his eyes like firecrackers.

Danny hummed, tilting his head to his other side while continuing to smile. "Once upon a time, there was a criminal organization. The antisocial psychic of the land, Batsy, did not like said criminal organization and sent the biggest pain the butt ever in as a double agent to take it down. The pain screwed everyone over and I would say 'the end' but we're not quite there yet, are we, Vladdie?"

Vlad sighed in annoyance. "What do you want from me?"

"I already asked what I want to know." Danny answered, his smile softening into a tiny, mysterious grin while his good hand propped his head on the chair's arm. "You just avoided the question, remember?"

The billionaire stayed quiet at this truth.

"How do you know King Zavala?" Danny asked, grin disappearing entirely as he stared up at the older. Rocking the chair slowly, the nineteen-year-old waited patiently for Vlad to answer. He was sure the older would be much more willing to answer anything now.

The billionaire sighed, rolling his eyes up to look at the ceiling and avoiding the younger's firm gaze. "King Zavala...is my clone."

"WHAT?!" Danny yelled, jerking forward in his seat with the widest eyes he could possibly make. The jerk in his seat jostled his wrist and he yelped in pain before turning back to the billionaire, ignoring the ache as best as he could. "_WHAT?!_"

Vlad did not seem surprised by the response. In fact, he had been expecting it. It wasn't every day someone found out someone else had a clone, an evil one at that. Most people didn't even know that kind of technology even existed. It had been carefully kept under wraps by the silver-haired billionaire, keeping it hidden from prying eyes and wandering ideas that would cause more damage than good.

Danny slumped in his seat and unconsciously cradled his wrist against him for comfort, still shocked out of his mind. "Oh, Drone's 'evil twin' idea wasn't too far-fetched after all… Oh, this is so weird and creepy and _why?_"

Vlad rolled his eyes at the response, letting his blue orbs drift back down from the ceiling to look at the stunned youth again. "I was twenty-six when King was made. At the time, all I wanted was to have a name in the science fields. What better way to do that than to do something no other had been able to do before?

"It took me about two years but I had finally pulled enough research to figure out how to clone a person. However, most of my research was done shadily and I didn't have anyone who would willingly be a test subject. As such, I tested the experiment on myself."

"Oh, that's so cliché…" Danny commented, pressing a hand to his forehead to stop the oncoming headache.

Vlad glared at the younger further. "Did you have to put your input in on my past situation?"

Danny nodded at the silver-haired billionaire, getting a tad more comfy in the chair he was using if he was going to have to hear one of _those_ stories. "Yeah. If you knew me better, you would've known I was going to do that anyways."

The silver-haired man couldn't resist rolling his eyes another time. He vaguely wondered how the Dark Knight, the hero that seemed closest to the youth, put up with him. It seemed Batman was one of the few heroes that was good with putting up with ludicrous _children_ and did it rather well, if he screwed up miserably from time to time.

With a sigh, Vlad continued. "Since the science behind cloning would probably be lost to you anyways-"

"Oh definitely. I still can't name all the parts of a cell. It's pretty bad."

Vlad face-palmed. "-I'm just going to say that, after testing the theory, King was created. He isn't an exact replica of me, as you could see from the picture, but he was the closest thing to a perfect clone anyone had ever gotten to. He was the _only _clone ever created.

"Like I expected, he adopted most of my mannerisms and his brain was wired very much like mine. However, it wasn't wired completely like mine… It was like something had gotten lost in the transformation and some things didn't full manifest."

"What does that mean?" Danny asked in confusion.

"It _means_," Vlad stressed. "that some of my desires that somehow transferred to him didn't manifest as the same as mine. Take yourself for example. King desired a second-in-command for a long while and he had to find the perfect fit. I, however, just want a child. Nothing more, nothing less."

Danny hummed, rocking himself some more while still cradling his wrist. Other dissimilarities started popping up in his mind as he thought about it. The two were very different from what he could tell, even though the similarities were just as infinite.

"A few weeks after staying in my lab, I showed my work to one of my superiors. When he found out, he was outraged and began shouting. King, still in the early processes of learning about how life works, went on a rampage, killed my superior, and escaped the lab. I searched for him for a few weeks before I assumed he destabilized.

"After the episode, I realized I had made a grave mistake and destroyed all of my work to prevent others from copying my actions. After, I began my work as a business man and started working in helping others excel in their departments, which is why my company has so many fields to work it. I was hoping to absolve my sins. However, King apparently lived and has come back to haunt me for my horrible decisions…" Vlad finished off.

Danny sighed in his seat, looking at the desk while he thought. Vlad could easily go to jail for illegal experimentation, since he had no permission from his superiors at the times. A few other charges, like aiding and abiding a criminal, could also be added to the list. But even though the older man was in some serious trouble, Danny could tell he really was a good guy with all the good works he was doing and planned to do. Vlad was a much better person than Danny ever was but was just as misguided sometimes.

"Wow." Danny mumbled, biting his lip. "That's one heck of a story you've got there, Vlad."

The billionaire stared at the youth curiously. "It is. Now the question lies on what you'll do with a story like that."

Danny hummed again, slowing his rocking to a stop. He shrugged and said "I still need to take him down. When I do, there's no doubt you'll be next. King will tell the cops all about your past and he's going to drag you down with him. There's nothing I can do about that."

Vlad sighed, having long accepted something like this was going to happen one day. "I understand. You do what you need to do."

The youth stood up and dropped his hands to his sides. "But I might be able to help you out a little."

Vlad raised an eyebrow at the boy doubtfully. "Really?"

Danny nodded, smiling a little bit. "Yes. If you help me take King down and confess to the cops, you're likely to get a lighter sentence. However, I might be able to pull some strings or get someone the judges trust more than me to pull the strings for me. I might be able to get you an ever lighter sentence, though you'll probably be in jail for a good long while even with my help."

The billionaire looked at Danny hopefully. "You really think you could do that for me?"

The white-haired boy nodded. "As long as you help me, I think I can."

Vlad thought about this for some time before he finally nodded his consent, ready to give up pretty much everything to get absolution for his many, many wrongdoings. "Alright. What is that you need me to do for you?"

Danny nodded, skipping around the desk. He stood in front of the older and stuck out his hand for Vlad to take. A beaming smile on his face, the boy merely said "For now, just take my hand and we'll be on our way to Oz!"

The white-haired billionaire squinted his eyes at the boy. "You know that is more terrifying than helpful, correct?"

"Always!"

Vlad sighed, rolled his eyes, and took the youth by his wrist. Danny gently pressed the hand connected to the injured wrist to his com and asked "Hey MM, transport me and my buddy back to Las Vegas please? … Why thank you, Manhunter!"

Before Vlad could ask what that meant, they disappeared from his office in a flash of light, a mocking laugh being left in their wake.

* * *

**"Scientist tests theory on self" cliché - Sin Counter: 73. (I did not actually find my own sins. I just chose a random number.)**

**So, in the canon DP universe, Vlad was made to literally be the exact opposite of dear Danny. I thought I'd keep the tradition going. So instead of being the bad guy, Vladdie's an overall good guy in this AU and does _not_ have ghost powers! He's just a little misguided from time to time, like the rest of us idiots in the world! :D**

**Oh, and I'm just gonna blatantly tell you how Danny got his powers cause it's never appearing in this series: after running Technus and the two agree to an apprenticeship/mentorship thing (we all know how that went), Danny's wandering around the GZ as a regular human, ticks off a bunch of ghosts (doesn't matter which, just a bunch of them), and gets blasted with a bunch of ectoplasm. Think of Phantom Planet. Who helped him control his powers? Technus some, Clockwork mostly.**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following story/me: _DHB-Spike, ShadowPhantom164, Mrs. Twist._**

**Reviews:**

**Eirena Gaia: Yup, I was on it. Though it's still hard to move because of all the lacerations from the ground, I was the unofficial "top dog" on it. *hands in the air* I hate those things... Yeah, things are coming together and your answer is in the AN~! **

**KuriMaster13: Exactly! More opposites all around! *throws confetti around***

**16ckelman: Yuppers!**

**Sarra Torrens: Always. :)**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Haha, yeah~! Though he did show up earlier so I'm kinda surprised everyone is acting like this is the first time... XD**

**Roselin: Oh, I know, right? Gotta love a ticked off Danny. :) Your suspicions would be correct. It was fantastic! I hurt all over now but it was so fun! WOO!**

**Expergiscimini: ...nice...LOVE YOU TOO, GIRL!**

**Pegasus Sword Master: XD Aw, so glad you enjoyed! I love writing humorous stuff so glad to know it's worth it.**

**TheBoss3254: Holy crap dude, that's some serious reading! And thanks so much! That's one of the greatest compliments I've received! :DDD**

**KainVixenheim: I shall remember that for reference. *thumbs up* Actually, he doesn't have ghost powers in this fic.**

**Guest of Honor: Yeah, no. I kinda need this story to end on a good note but nice try. *thumbs up***

**Ninuhuju: ...no but that would have been a much better idea than what I had going on. XD**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: Well, they're doing something with this identity of his.**

**Poohbearmorris: Oh, I'm a horrible person to ask for that kind of thing. I storm watch so... XD Yeah, it was cliché... I don't know who that is. XD I love them so much, no matter how much pain I'm in the next day.**

**SomeItalian: My reviews..? What about my reviews? Well... Vlad is something. And I'm not changing Black Vision to "Dem Demon Eyes". Too late and, frankly, "Dem" ain't that great for a title.**


	25. End Game

Ch.25: End Game

"Park here." Danny ordered, slipping his mask on over his face before fixing the hood of his cloak with his hands. He shrugged his shoulders, better situating the black cloth around his shoulders. Danny undid some of the loose strings catching on the zipper, picking them off and letting his hands drop to his lap again. He tried to itch his wrist but the cast didn't allow him to, making him growl in distaste.

Vlad sat in the driver's seat of his car, taking the directions from the nineteen-year-old in the passenger seat. His expression was one of outward calmness but underlying concern. His hands gripped the wheel tightly as he pulled off the dirt path and parked the car off to the side of the road, beside a bunch of trees that made up part of the forest surrounding them on all sides. His blue eyes flickered over to Danny's form, watching him get ready for his oncoming performance.

"You know, I never asked why you want to help me." The billionaire stated, propping his elbow against the side of the door and resting his head on his hand. The curiosity lacing his voice was undeniable, waiting to hear what the youth had to say in return to his slight prod.

Danny shrugged, pulling out the laptop from its bag on the floor in front of him. Setting it in his lap, he began booting it up. "Heroes help people, right? Well here I am, helping people. That's my story and I'm-a sticking to it."

Vlad glared at the side of the boy's hooded head, obviously not too thrilled with the answer he was given. His blue eyes sparked irritably and he let out a long exhale from his nose. "That's it? That's all you have to say about this entire thing? You're a hero? I expected a flashier answer."

The white-haired male let out a huff and looked out the windshield in front of him. With a quick turn of his head, Danny gave the older man a small glare with an obvious frown on his face, despite the darkness surrounding them and the shadows his hood was throwing across his face. "Fine. Even though you screwed you much more miserably than I ever have, you're still a much better person than I ever was and am. Why not help you out a little bit?"

The billionaire raised an eyebrow at Danny, a little surprised by the answer and how genuine it was. "…that's a good philosophy to live by."

Danny looked at the older with a stunned expression, mouth dropping open. "It _is_?"

Vlad nodded.

The white-haired boy's gaze fell back to the computer as it chimed. With a hum, he mumbled "That's not good… Maybe I should change it into something perverted… Yeah, yeah, that's what I should do…"

Having been in the car with the youth for a couple hours, Vlad face-palmed, not shocked at all by the simply statement that fell from the younger's mouth. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything about his philosophy at all. It would've stayed perfectly ok if he hadn't opened his mouth to say anything about it.

Beside him, Danny grinned in victory while finding his way into the GPS trackers in the vans the Cloaks' vans. The system was set up on King's mainframe, letting the leader of the Cloaks know exactly where his lackeys were at all times. His bike had had one until he jammed it, terminating the connection altogether. He was sure this ticked King off but he was perfectly ok with that.

Vlad sighed as he watched the boy work. Even with a broken wrist, his hands were exceptionally fast across the keyboard. His muscle memory was ingrained in his brain permanently, knowing where every button on the keyboard was without having to look ever. "What exactly are we waiting for?"

"The Alpha Team was sent out tonight to a different city an hour north of here. I'm seeing where they currently are now because there is a chance they're already back at base. If they aren't, I'm taking the wheel and hiding your pretty little car." Danny explained, eyes flickering from the screen to look at Vlad's before falling back to the screen in front of him without as much as a second thought to his plan.

Vlad looked at the nineteen-year-old, startled. "Are you kidding me? You're not driving this car."

Danny shot him a glare. "Yes I am. I know where a hiding spot is. It's very hard to explain so I can't just _tell you_. Besides, my driving is fine. I don't know why everyone thinks it sucks… Besides, you'll be in a jail cell in a couple of hours. It's not like it matters to you."

"Are you telling the truth or just making up excuses?" Vlad questioned, not all that happy that he had been reminded of his upcoming fate.

The white-haired boy grinned at the man beside him. "Of course I'm telling the truth. Haven't I been truthful all night, Vladdie?"

The silver-haired male could admit that. Danny had been pretty open with him all night. If he hadn't felt like answering, he didn't instead of making up some ridiculous truth. It had made Vlad a little trusting of the boy, though he knew what he was capable of from all the news footage of him he had seen in the past. Graveyard wasn't known for being the typical hero.

Vlad sighed in irritation before looking out his window. Beside him, Danny's tapping continue on while he cackled to himself victoriously. The two sat in silence for a good long, the only sounds being their breathing and Danny's fingers against the keys.

Well… It was quiet until Danny flipped the radio on and turned the volume up as loud as it could go.

Quickly as he could while jumping out of fright, Vlad turned the volume down to a reasonable level before yelling "What are you doing?!"

Danny grinned at the silver-haired man from him before he turned back to his computer, allowing the music to be lower than he usually preferred. "Oh, you know, turning on some music. It was too quiet. We needed some noise!"

Vlad sighed, slumping in his seat while Danny laughed again. The two sat in the moderate quiet when Danny finally went 'a-ha'. The billionaire sat up while the boy grinned at the screen. "What? What is it?"

"Finally found the right tracker that tells me where the Alpha Team is!" Danny announced pleasantly. His smile quickly turned into panic as he yelled "Oh crap!"

"What?!"

"They're right behind us!" Danny yelled, slapping his hand against the window beside him. He turned invisible after and let his power slip through his fingers, running it along the car until everything was invisible.

Just as Danny finished spreading his invisibility along the car, headlights appeared over the bend in the hill. Over the bend came a black van. The vehicle filled with a team of thieves drove right by the other car sitting in the middle of a bunch of trees. The only sound they made as they drove by was the small hum of the motor.

Danny and Vlad tensed as they drove by. As soon as they were out of sight, driving around a corner, they released breathless sighs and slumped forward. Danny released his hold over his powers and they watched as the car became visible again.

"Well…" Danny drawled, leaning back in his seat again. "That was close."

"You think?" Vlad asked sarcastically, shaking his head and putting his hands to the wheel.

Danny grinned and nodded. "Yes I do! Now, you can drive down this path to get to the base. Turn your headlights off though. We don't want them catching us. I'll show you where to park when we get close, ok? Ok. Glad you're a good listener and never interrupt. I would hate that."

Vlad rolled his eyes but did as he was told. With a small flick of his hand, the headlights turned off as he carefully pressed the gas. The car drove back onto the dirt path and rolled after the black van that had disappeared around the corner they were currently riding around.

The dirt path went on for a little longer before it started widening, showing the view of a base of a mountain with a bunch of garage doors along the side. Danny told Vlad to park between a couple of trees while he powered down the laptop again, slipping it into his bag and replacing it on the floor once again. Just as he bounced back up, he handed Vlad his phone, saying "Alright, call the number I have programmed into it. It'll call the feds nearby and we'll stall the Cloaks, giving them enough time to show up. I'll call my buddies to show up around the same time, ok?"

Vlad nodded, a long exhale coming from his nose again. As he dialed the number and leaned back in his seat, Danny sent him a grin and said "Calm down. I got your back."

The billionaire couldn't help but roll his eyes at the response before the boy quickly scribbled something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Vlad. The silver-haired man read over it, acknowledged the directions he was supposed to give the feds, and said a greeting into the microphone as someone picked up on the end of the line.

As Vlad was going through the motions with the authorities, Danny was whispering into his com, letting Batman know what was going on and roughly what time he should show up. After all, both males in the car had a bone to pick with when it came to King.

Once they were all set, the two exited the car and Danny led Vlad down the rest of the path by foot. The younger of the two was much faster than the older, though that seemed like a usual thing. Periodically, Danny stopped and looked over his shoulder before he continued sprinting towards the garage doors.

As they slid up next to them, Danny roughly grabbed Vlad's shoulder and pulled him through one of the doors as he spread intangibility through them. The billionaire yelped, making Danny slap a hand over his mouth to stop the noise. The white-haired male looked around the garage to make sure no one had heard before quietly hissing to the older man to _shut up_.

After releasing his hold on Vlad, Danny led him to the door. They quietly slipped in before Danny grabbed the billionaire's wrist, turning them invisible again. Quietly, Danny led Vlad through the halls and skimmed past the Cloaks that were still wandering around in the middle of the night. Although they had a few close calls, no one detected the two as they made their way to where King undoubtedly was: his throne room.

Danny hid Vlad behind one of the hanging curtains before he reappeared in the middle of the room, breaking up, yet another, meeting between Vlad and one of his teams. "Hello suckers! How's life? Pretty good, right? Well not anymore! Your trickster is back and ready to make your life miserable all over again!"

King sighed in his seat, looking down at the boy with irritated blue-grey eyes. His fingers drummed against the arm of his seat, creating a steady rhythm. "As _thrilled_ as we are to see you back, could you please wait until I am done with the Alpha Team, Shadow?"

Danny grinned at the masked man and shook his head. Pleasantly, he said "Absolutely not! Either I stay here and interrupt everything you say or the Alpha Team needs to leave the room! I don't care what happens because I'm having too much fun right now!"

With an irritated sigh, King gestured for the Cloaks to leave his presence. The Alpha Team scurried away with annoyed sighs, shooting the Shadow Cloak resentful looks. Danny waved after them, smiling cheekily behind his wolf mask. His waving continued until they had all shuffled out of the room, the door closing behind them as they went.

As Danny turned around on his heel and faced the older man, King asked "What is it that you want, Shadow?"

"I wanna be Lady Gaga!"

The masked man choked on the air he was inhaling and jerked forward in his seat, stunned.

Danny laughed, putting his good hand on his hip while the other hung at his side loosely. "Hahaha- No, I'm just messing with you. Seriously. Oh gosh, your face was priceless!"

King couldn't help but glare at the boy.

The white-haired male tilted his head to the side, flashing his cute smile. Adorably, he batted his eyelids and showed the older his white teeth. "Come on, Princess! You know you love me."

"Yes, that's the term I would use…" King muttered darkly to himself.

Danny made a sound in agreement with the older's mumble, nodding his head quickly. "Yep! See, you do love me! But you want to know who you love more than anyone, Princess? Come on, take a guess! I bet you'll guess if you really, really try!"

King sighed, starting to think it had been nice when Danny hadn't been around. "I don't know. Who is it?"

"It's~" Danny drawled, making the older glare at him again. "Vladdie Masters! Come on out, you billionaire you!" Danny clapped and whooped as the other older male stepped out from behind his hiding spot, glancing up at his creation while King quickly stood up from his spot, glaring down at the two.

"Why is he here?!" King yelled at the smirking youth, pointing at Vlad.

Though he was still wearing his cute smile, Danny's grin was tinged with smugness behind his snarling mask. He batted his eyes again, shrugging his shoulders humorously. "Oh, you know, I thought it was time for you to go to jail. Vlad did too. Hey, isn't it wonderful how that happens?"

"_No_." King stated simply, still glaring at the boy. His blue-grey eyes drifted over to Vlad's. "If I'm taken down, you're going with me."

"I know." The billionaire said, shrugging his shoulders casually. "But I'm alright with it. You will finally be out of my hair for good and I won't have to lie anymore. What a reliever that is."

Danny grinned wider, stepping closer to the steps leading up to the platform King was standing on. "Nice try."

King glared deeper when there was a high-pitched beeping sound. Danny made a 'one-minute' gesture before digging into one of his pockets with his good hand. He pulled out his phone, grinned at the screen, and showed them the alert that had appeared on it. "Oh look, the feds are here. Isn't that wonderful?" Danny hummed pleasantly, ignoring how this infuriated King further. "Hey Princess, why don't you come down here and be a good little prisoner? When the authorities get here and slap the cuffs on, I'll give you a lollipop! How great does that sound?"

King stayed rooted to his spot. His mind was grappling for ideas on how to get out of this mess.

Danny hummed again, batting his eyes at the older. "Come on, Princess. Time to come down~!"

When King didn't move, Danny shrugged and mumbled "Fine, you tightwad." As inky blackness entered his eyes, two large animals appeared on either side of King. One looked oddly like a demonic Irish wolfhound while the other was a large bobcat, its head nothing more than a skull.

The two hissed and growled, setting the adult on edge as he jumped. They walked behind him, making him move towards the steps. Carefully, the two herded King down the steps while Danny looked on, smirking behind his mask. Though he was being followed by two demonic looking creatures, he still chose to glare at the boy in front of him.

As if in warning, the wolfhound nipped at his heels.

"Two illusions… How creative." King commented sarcastically.

Vlad leaned over to the younger boy. "You think _illusions_ will keep him there?"

Danny hummed again, nodding his head. "Yeah, he will. Don't worry about it too much, Vladdie. Everything works on a mental level… If I convince his brain he's feeling pain, he'll think he's feeling pain. That's the great thing about being a trickster... Everyone believes you when they shouldn't." With a small smile, he told the older "Why don't you get one of the feds in here so we can lock him up?"

Vlad nodded and began his walk towards the door, pausing a split second before leaving the room entirely.

Once the billionaire was gone, the nineteen-year-old walked forward, towards the older, masked man. Casually, he started walking around the other, watching his eyes as much as he could to see what the other was silently contemplating. Danny pretended it was a game, focusing as much as he could on the other's eyes to make sure he wouldn't try anything to get away. His ears could hear the feds storming the base, possibly some heroes thrown in there as well. It was hard to hear when he was concentrating on the man in front of him.

This concentration was broken momentarily when there was a familiar screech of pain farther in the base; it sounded a lot like Crispin's or Kai's. Danny couldn't tell from the distance he was at.

As the Ghost Boy was looking towards the door where the scream had resounded, King took his opportunity to grab a hold of Danny's arm and flip him. The creatures standing behind the older melted away when their master's back slammed against the ground jostling up some of the gashes across his torso. A _crack_ emitted from the cast, earning a pained gasp from Danny.

King fell down after him, planning to pin Danny to the ground. The white-haired male lifted his feet as the older was falling and let him slam into the soles of his shoes. With a strong push, Danny launched the masked man away from him. The white-haired boy quickly rolled onto his feet, cradling his hurting wrist to his chest while his good hand graced the tiled floor under him.

The two glared at each other.

"Well, you're a sore sport, aren't ya?" Danny said sarcastically before getting off the ground.

King growled. "You're sending me off to jail! How should I feel?"

"Lucky that I didn't decide to push you in front of a oncoming bus." Danny answered, smirking behind his mask all over again.

The older man growled and charged again. Danny ducked under his fist and swept his feet out from under him, dodging to the side as King came crashing down. Danny got back on his feet, laughing mockingly. It wasn't long before King was after him again, trying to bash his head in. The nineteen-year-old continued with his dodging, leading the older all around the room while he practically danced around his opponent.

Though he was laughing and tiptoeing around easily, Danny was a little worried. He was only moving fast because King was moving at him fast. His wrist ached in warning so he tried not to jostle it up as he moved around. It was a matter of time before the older man caught up with his dodges and managed to hit him.

As predicted, it wasn't long before the leader of the Cloaks had him on his back again. Danny chuckled nervously at his angry eyes, shrugging. "So… Wanna make-up now? I'm up for that! How about you?"

King's fist flew down and Danny closed his eyes, waiting for impact. He was surprised to hear a loud yell from King, whose presence fell away from Danny's. The green-eyed male reopened his eyes and watched King stumble back, holding his shoulder as it bled. A familiar weapon stuck out from the wound haphazardly.

Danny grinned, looking in the direction of the door. Batman had a firm stance in front of it, a few other bat-a-rangs in his hands, ready for use.

Seeing Danny staring at him, Batman shrugged his shoulders and gestured to the criminal in pain. "Do you want to finish him off or should I?"

The white-haired boy laughed and responded "I'll take care of it!"

Black melted into Danny's eyes again and he focused completely on the felon's mind. King screamed when he felt the imaginary pain of fire flowing through his veins. He tried to attack anything around him but there was nothing physically hurting him. It lasted only a couple of seconds but he finally collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Batman waltzed over to where Danny was still laughing on the ground. The Dark Knight helped the white-haired boy up as Danny slipped his mask off his face, the older asking "How's your wrist?"

Danny's laughs died and he shrugged, holding it out for Batman to see. "It kinda got jostled around earlier. I don't think it got too badly hurt again but I heard a crack so I don't know…"

The Dark Knight snorted and showed Danny a crack running along the side of the plastic cast. Danny mumbled an 'oh' and chuckled nervously. With a smirk gracing his face, Batman gently smacked Danny upside the head. "Go get it checked out anyways. We don't want to take any chances, do we?"

Danny smiled and nodded before looking at King's unconscious body. "What about him?"

"I'll take care of it." Batman said simply, pushing Danny towards the door. The white-haired boy chuckled again before doing as he was told. As he left through the doors, he saw the feds and a few heroes scouring the halls and easily passed through them, holding his wrist to hide it from accidently getting it jostled anymore. It still throbbed dully, making him a little worried but mostly irritated.

Danny found a medic outside the building and had his wrist checked out. Other than twisting it in a wrong direction just a little too much, nothing major had happened to it. Danny thanked the medic before moving away. As he was walking away, the white-haired boy was tackled from behind by two forms, making him stumble with a yelp before he regained his bearings.

"Graveyard~!" Drone and Snowbird sang happily in his ears, latching onto him from all sides. Danny couldn't help the laugh that escaped his mouth before he hugged the two back.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Danny asked.

The three began an easy, casual conversation. They went over the basics, as they had seen each not too long before the invasion of the base. Once they went through the motions, Danny told them he'd see them in a little bit, watching as they walked away before skimming his eyes over all the cop cars before finding the specific prisoners he was looking for.

Mask around his throat and cloak hanging from his shoulders, Danny waltzed up beside a specific cruiser and tapped on the glass. Rider, Crispin, and Kai all looked up at him startled. Danny waved and the cop waiting for his partner in the passenger seat allowed the window to be rolled down. The boy smiled small as it finally opened. "Hey guys."

The three chorused their greetings, trying to make his gaze and failing. They let their eyes droop sadly onto their laps, not thrilled with the concept of being caught.

"Did any of you get hurt when the feds stormed?" Danny asked.

Crispin shrugged. "No, not really. We were surprised so it didn't take much to take us down…"

Silence fell between the three.

Danny sighed. "Cheer up, guys. I checked and your sentences are going to be light. And if you all do everything you say and confess, it'll get lighter and you might get out faster on probation. It'll go by faster than you realize. Promise."

"Yeah, I don't know." Rider said, frowning uneasily.

Danny smiled reassuringly. "Hey, I'm going to make an effort to visit you guys. I'll bring along my friends. You'll love them."

Kai smiled at the white-haired boy gratefully. "Thanks Phantom."

The green-eyed boy mouthed 'just call me Danny' to them so the cop in the passenger seat wouldn't hear him. The three smiled and nodded, mouthing the name back at him. Danny grinned a little wider. "I've got to go speak to Milo, Ezra, and Gabe now and tell them the same. Remember, do what the cops say and avoid ticking off the ones not carrying guns."

"Why?" Crispin asked in confusion.

Danny chuckled nervously. "Well, my dear children, it usually means they have tazers or a nightstick. Right, Mr. Copper Sir?"

The cop turned around and nodded, a small, humorous smile gracing his features.

The three Cloaks laughed while Danny waved, backing away. The window was rolled up and the three waved after the other boy. Danny smiled before walking off to find the other three and tell them the same thing.

After finding Milo, Ezra, and Gabe and recounting what he said to the other's of the team, Danny looked around for another prisoner and found him getting guided into, yet another, cruiser.

Danny jogged over, quickly asking the officer assigned to the cruiser if he could speak to Vlad for a few minutes. He received a curt nod before the officer left the hero to speak with the older man.

"Yes?" Vlad asked dryly, having known this was going to happen for a long while.

Danny smiled reassuringly. "I just wanted to make sure I got to tell you I'll do what I can to help you out. Though you do kinda deserve some of this, you don't deserve all of it. King is a fairly good manipulator, though not _nearly_ as good as me…"

Vlad snorted, shook his head, and smiled at the younger. "I understand. Thank you."

The white-haired boy saluted. "Take care of yourself, Vladdie."

The billionaire nodded and Danny shut the cruiser door before walking off to stand on the outskirts of the scene, watching everything with a small sigh dying on his lips as he watched, red and blue lights flashing across his face.

Batman joined his side a little while later, watching the chaos of the scene with little interest. The two stood in silence for the longest time, not knowing what to say now that the entire thing was over and done with.

"How well did Sam and Tucker do against the occasional ghostie that popped up while I was gone?" Danny asked.

"They did well. No ghosts stayed an escapee for long." Batman informed.

Danny hummed in acknowledgement, smiling. Having told his two friends about the plan long before it even started, he had asked them if they would watch out for the ghosts that sometimes popped out of the Ghost Zone. They had agreed and told him not to go rogue unless he absolutely had to. He had nodded, agreed, and told them goodnight before hanging up that day.

The two fell into another silence again that, fortunately, didn't last as long as the last one.

"I haven't talked to the League about this yet but," Batman started, getting Danny's undivided attention. What did the Dark Knight want this time? "…how would you, Sam, and Tucker feel about joining the Justice League?"

* * *

**Was that battle between Danny and King a little short and anti-climatic, as well as the "unification"? Yup. But I wasn't rewriting it (cause I suck at fight scenes and the like) unless it absolutely sucked. Honestly, it could've been worse.**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following me: _NightmareWolf24, BlackAngel365, Shadow2550._**

**Reviews:**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: XD But hey, clichéness works! Glad you liked his reaction... Yeah, I knew you were. No one else has said anything so... XD**

**TheBoss3254: :DDD Really? SWEET! I love giving you guys plot twists! I don't know how many years you get for illegal experimentation or aiding and abiding. I just know stuff like that together gets you a long sentence unless someone pulls some strings. :)**

**KuriMaster13: Sweet! I can do the almost impossible! Sort of! *drops to knees and throws hands in the air, cheering***

**Sarra Torrens: *salutes* Thank you! I try! :D**

**Roselin: HAHA! I know, right? It seems so unlikely! XD I know but everything is just shallow cuts and occasional bug bite. I'm all good.**

**KainVixenheim: When we call Danny a "good guy", we use the term _very_ loosely. XD Vlad is still a much better person in general than Danny is in this fic. A _much_ better person.**

**SomeItalian: Ah, makes sense. And yeah, you kinda did... It was the first thing you asked last review with something along the lines of change... Didn't quite understand that. And no, I don't even know the characters names.**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Yeah, he showed up briefly but whatever. Danke!**

**Karen: Well, now that we're wrapping things up, we see Danny and Vlad have an ok relationship. No real attachment but whatever. And we will never see Dani in this universe, though that would be something. :)**

**Guest of Honor: But a mostly good Fruitloop, nonetheless. And I said in the last AN, NO! No he does not! *slams head against desk in exaggerated exasperation* The Food Network is so boring!**

**Popcornbubbles77: Yeah, that was what I was going for. XD I didn't say but it was actually King's choice for a name. ISSUES~!**

**Ninuhuju: I KNOW, RIGHT? That would _so_ be the way it happened! XD**

**Expergiscimini: *salutes* You can kill King after I'm done with the story! Kinda need him... And danke!**

**Poohbearmorris: XD Haha, danke! And I love watching storms whenever I can~! It's so fun~!**


	26. Epilogue

Epilogue

_Three Weeks Later…_

Jazz laughed as Levi crawled into her lap, bouncing excitedly as Robert fell down into the seat beside her with his own smile. Kellie yelled a 'wait for me' before she hopped up on the couch beside her father, also bouncing excitedly next to him. Maddie and Jack were sitting beside their daughter and grandson with fond expressions on their face as the small family waited for the news footage to begin.

"When's Uncle Danny going to be on TV? When, when, when?" Levi asked his mother hyperactively. His excitement was contagious, getting Kellie to shake her father to tell them when their uncle was going to be on the television. The adults laughed at the display before Jazz calmed them.

"Uncle Danny will be on in a couple of minutes. Calm yourselves, my little children." Jazz teasingly answered, putting her hands on top of their hands as if she were going to magically make them calm down herself.

The two children giggled in their spots but stopped bouncing. Their mothers mystical touch made them turn towards the TV, waiting semi-impatiently for their estranged uncle to finally appear. The parents of the little ones glanced at each other out of the corners of their eyes, grinning at the other with humorous smiles.

Jazz turned to her parents, still smiling. "You two are awfully quiet."

Maddie shrugged while Jack let out a breathless chuckle. "I just don't know what to say. When we had Danny, we never thought he'd become a hero."

"You also never thought he'd become a criminal either." Robert mumbled, making Jazz smack her husband's arm. The kids giggled while the man's in-laws only laughed again, though it was much more strained than before. Robert chuckled too before turning his head away nervously.

Jazz rolled her eyes at the display before perking when Cat Grant appeared on the TV. "Oh guys, look! It's starting!"

The blonde reporter smiled at the camera with a wide grin. "_Hello folks! I'm Cat Grant, live at the Hall of Justice in Washington DC. Today, Superman is introducing three new heroes into the Justice League that we are not unfamiliar with. The Justice League is finally introducing Snowbird, Graveyard, and Drone into their ranks!_"

The small family in Gotham cheered and clapped for their family member as the camera switched angles to show them the trio standing in front of the Hall, Batman behind them with Robin standing beside Drone. Other heroes of the League stood on the other side while Superman was standing in front of a podium, a large smile on his own face.

"_Hello there again. I bet this isn't the first Justice League induction most of you have been to._" Superman started, earning laughs throughout the crowd. His smile got a little bigger as he gained a little more confidence. "_And it most certainly won't be out last, am I right?_" The crowd cheered in response to the suggestion of more new heroes soon to come. Superman continued smiling. "_These three, talented heroes have sworn to continue to help the Justice League protect the world from evil and to uphold the values of liberty, truth, and justice. Would any of you like to say some words?_"

The small family laughed as Snowbird and Drone pushed Graveyard forward without even consulting him. The hooded hero yelped before turning around and whisper-yelling at his two friends. The crowd and band of heroes laughed as the three continue to bicker, ignoring everyone entirely. Behind the three, Batman sighed in irritation while Robin shook his head in a disapproving manner.

Snowbird yelled "_Just do it!_" at her friend loud enough for the cameras to pick up her voice.

Graveyard's face morphed into a growl before he yelled at her "_No! I always have to do this thing! It's one of your guy's turns!"_

"_You're better at this than us!_" Drone complained.

_"That's cause I'm usually lying through my teeth, you idiot!"_

All the viewers in the crowd, across America, and the heroes continued to laugh at the performance the trio was putting on for them. The only ones who were not amused with the display were the Dynamic Duo but that, in itself, was not unusual.

Everyone watched as Batman sighed before pushing all three of them forward towards the podium to say something. Graveyard tried to escape but the Dark Knight was having none of it and eagerly pushed the white-haired boy after his friends, making sure to glare. Beside him, Robin was smirking in cruel amusement.

Snowbird, Drone, and Graveyard stood in front of the podium awkwardly, unsure of what to say. They glanced at each other nervously before Drone leaned forward, towards the mic, saying "_No one warned us we'd be speaking publically._"

Graveyard pointed at Batman. "_It's his fault. He didn't warn us._"

"_Yeah, since we didn't prepare anything, can we just leave?_" Snowbird asked, getting excited nods from her friends while the crowd booed in amusement.

Jazz, Robert, Maddie, Jack, Kellie, and Levi all watched with smiles as their estranged family member and his friends tried to talk their way out of the situation they were in. However, no one was letting them out this time. They were too amusing to just disappear again.

Over the roar of the crowd, Robin said something but no one could make out what. As Batman blanched and the heroes behind him cracked up, Graveyard turned his head to look in the sidekick's direction, shouting "_Shut up, you little rat!_"

Robin growled and tried to take a step forward. Batman grabbed his cape and smacked him upside the head, hissing something under his breath at the younger. The young partner instantly straightened, crossed his arms over his chest, and glared at the older hero. Batman sighed and said something to Graveyard that wasn't heard by anyone in the crowd because they were all laughing too hard. Graveyard gave the older hero a look while both of his friends snorted. "_I've already made it clear I don't know what to say! I'm tempted to say I have a bomb strapped to my chest, something else about Allah, and then laugh as everyone panics because _terrorists_._"

While everyone laughed harder, Batman stalked forward, grabbed Graveyard's arm roughly, and began pulling him inside the Hall of Justice. As always, the white-haired hero had to make a fantastic exit so he began singing, loudly and obnoxiously, the first few lines to Lady Gaga's 'Americano'.

The heroes standing across the platform and the crowd down below began roaring with laughter. Snowbird was leaning on the podium, laughing hysterically as she pounded her fist against the wood. Drone stumbled away and used one of the walls as a support as he tried to breathe through gasping breaths. The only not laughing was Robin and he had his head in hands, hiding his face as he tried not to scream at the total ludicrousness.

Just as everyone was calming, Graveyard burst through the doors of the Hall again, screaming. He instantly turned and ran towards Robin. As he was passing him by, the older threw the younger over his shoulder and sprinted for his bike parked a good ways off. Robin began screaming his head off to get Graveyard to put him down but all the hero had to say was "_Dude, Batsy is ticked off and I need leverage so he doesn't kill me! I'm taking you as my hostage! Besides, I'm probably saving your life anyhow!_"

As the family in Gotham got to watch Graveyard dump the smaller hero on the bike and drive away seconds later as Batman burst from the Hall covered in green goop, the only thing Jazz could say through her mirth was "Good job, Danny! You keep making memories, my good brother!"

* * *

**If it wasn't implied, sometime in three weeks, Danny told his family everything and he's still working everything out with his parents.**

**Now, this is not going to be the "last" installment of the Dark-Net series. There was a one-shot I made before the sequel entitled "Fancy Meeting You" and starred an older Dark-Net Danny meeting Jason Todd. I've decided to change "Fancy Meeting You" to "Fancy Meeting You Here" and I plan on making it a small one-shot series between the two psychotic nuts. Should this be interesting? Yup.**

**With that said, my updating schedule this summer is going to be wacky. I most likely won't start anything big until the end of July. The most you will see from me is a couple of one-shots and maybe a two-shot here and there. I was happy to get this done today because I leave Saturday and I plan to be busy for three weeks in July (two of them vacation in New England and the other volunteering at VBS). Fun times. *thumbs up* So see you all eventually!**

**Thanks to these people for favoriting/following story/me: _RagingMuffin670, Da Chaos Mistress._**

**Reviews:**

**KuriMaster13(?): I have no idea if I'm answering the right person. I got a guest review and I had to figure out who the heck you are and, as I said before, I could be wrong about your identity... Yeah, the battle ain't my thing. I almost gave King powers and then I was like "nah" cause I had to give a reason why he had them. HA! Yeah! You were so right on that! He's screwing with poor Damian a lot! XD**

**BringbackDannyPhantom: Good going, Vlad! You're ruining Danny even more! *face-palm* Ha, I know, right? Technically, yes, since this is the epilogue.**

**Sarra Torrens: XD Glad to hear.**

**Roselin: Danke! Glad you enjoy and poor, poor King (that guy put up with Danny for so long)... **

**Karen: *snorts* Crispy might join jail for that exact reason... Oh well. XD HAAAA! Flash, oh my gosh! Now, I didn't get all of the rest of your message since Google Translate sucks but did you ask to make a one-shot with Dark-Net Danny and Dani? Not sure if that's what you were going for... If it is, probably not but only because of "Fancy Meeting You Here" being when it is.**

**Expergiscimini: ...world is screwed. XD**

**Pegasus Sword Master: Oh, probably not, but they hide it well. XD**

**TheBoss3254: Aw, thanks so much, dude! :) ...you actually looked at that up? Thanks for letting me know how long he's going be in there! XD Danke~!**

**Anime Hotty Lover. 18: Oh Batman, you're so stupid. XD**

**Ninuhuju: XD I think that might've been my favorite part too.**

**Guest of Honor: Oh look, he accepted. X) And no, you really can't. Dani and Danny aren't the same, Superboy and Superman aren't the same, and you definitely can't say Speedy/Red Arrow (from YJ) and his clone aren't the same. A clone is a person all on their own, just sharing the same DNA as another person. They make their own choices and live their own life. No one can say they're the same. **

**Popcornbubbles77: Ha, I know, right? They do love each other~! XD *snorts* Looks like Danny got a head-start.**

**Poohbearmorris: Ask Batsy. He's in charge. XD Haha, yeah, no, Vlad's a good guy. Calm down. I know you worried but you didn't have to~!**


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